talk
Manchester Digital Collections: Getting to Know Gaskell
Zoom online only, United KingdomElizabeth Gaskell fanatic or new to her novels? Explore the University of Manchester John Rylands Library's digitised documents in this online event with Curator Jessica Smith, resident researcher Zoe Miller, a specialist in gender and sexuality history and Elizabeth Gaskell's House Manager Sally Jastrzebski-Lloyd. Witness the archive come to life through dramatic readings from the […]
Why She Wrote
Zoom online only, United KingdomDive into the fascinating, unexpected, and inspiring stories behind the greatest women writers in the English language as the amazing Bonnets at Dawn launch their new book. The engaging duo talk about their Elizabeth Gaskell chapter and consider her work, along with that of other women writers, including Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Alice Dunbar […]
A Visit to Tabley Old Hall
Zoom online only, United KingdomJoin The Friends of Elizabeth Gaskell's House for a journey back in time to around 1910, just sixty years after the Gaskells moved into Plymouth Grove. Tabley is not far from Knutsford and we know, from her letters, that Elizabeth spent many happy hours of her childhood there, with her cousins and friends. Using old […]
Sons and Mothers: Lawrence, Larkin and the Maternal Muse
Zoom online only, United KingdomThis compelling talk explores the work of two of the finest English writers of the 20th century; DH Lawrence and Philip Larkin. Join Philip Watts for a fascinating look at how each writer’s relationship with his mother influenced their work. Find out how D H Lawrence, regarded as the ‘greatest imaginative novelist of our generation’, […]
Between the Covers – Literary Liaisons
Zoom online only, United KingdomElizabeth Gaskell's House is delighted to announce a new short film by the comedy duo, LipService Theatre. Filmed at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, especially for your viewing pleasure, ‘Britain’s favourite literary lunatics’ bring you Mrs Gaskell, Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, John Ruskin and a host of Victorian glitterati. The film will be followed by Mrs Gaskell’s […]
Houses and Homes in Literature: From Shakespeare to the Present Day
Zoom online only, United KingdomThis entertaining online talk with readings begins with the Gaskells’ acquisition of their house in Plymouth Grove and its reflection in North and South. Writer and guide Philip Watts explores the significance of writers’ domestic places and spaces by stitching together a patchwork quilt of literary extracts from Shakespeare to the present day.
Online talk – Brontë’s Mistress: the story must be told
Zoom online only, United KingdomAuthor Finola Austin brings her meticulously researched and deliciously told novel, Brontë’s Mistress, with its captivating reimagining of the affair between Branwell Brontë (brother of the famous Brontë sisters) and Lydia Robinson, his employer’s wife. Elizabeth Gaskell wrote of the scandalous affair in her groundbreaking biography, The Life of Charlotte Brontë, and it has divided Brontë enthusiasts for generations. […]
The Life of Charlotte Brontë – an introduction
Zoom online only, United KingdomWe're thrilled that Elizabeth Gaskell's House has joined forces with the Brontë Parsonage Museum to deliver a series of three events that explore the relationship between the the two friends. Gaskell's biography, The Life of Charlotte Brontë, told the story of a ‘wild, sad life and the beautiful character that grew out of it’ but was […]
Romance and Reality: Elizabeth Gaskell’s Debt to Sir Walter Scott
Zoom online only, United KingdomAn online talk by the Gaskell Society's Dr Diane Duffy. It is hard to imagine the hard-hitting industrial novels written by Elizabeth Gaskell having much in common with the romances of the Middle Ages and early modern England popularised by Walter Scott in the early 19th century. Yet Scott began the transformation of fiction by […]
Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell – a Friendship
Zoom online only, United KingdomWe're thrilled that Elizabeth Gaskell's House has joined forces with the Brontë Parsonage Museum to deliver a series of three events that explore the relationship between the the two friends. This introductory talk by the Chair of the Gaskell Society, the brilliant Libby Tempest, explores the relationship between these two giants of 19th century literature. Charlotte […]
‘This Unlucky Book’ – an online discussion
Zoom online only, United KingdomWe're thrilled that Elizabeth Gaskell's House has joined forces with the Brontë Parsonage Museum to deliver a series of three events that explore the relationship between the the two friends. Fact, Fiction and Mythmaking in Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Brontë - a panel discussion with Libby Tempest, Dr Lucy Hanks and Ann Dinsdale […]
Online Talk – Victorian Children’s Literature: an introduction
Zoom online only, United KingdomVictorian’s Children’s literature gave us many of the classics we all know and love from A Secret Garden to Alice in Wonderland. But what themes from Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing are also present in the children’s literature of the age? And as a mother to four daughters, what types of books might Elizabeth have read to […]