Sex. Sensuality. Eroticism. Such words are not usually associated with Elizabeth Gaskell, the respectable Victorian wife of a Unitarian minister. Yet novels like North and South reveal a woman willing to write about secret desires and intimate feelings. How were such matters to be publicly discussed in an age famous for sexual repression? Take a look at […]
Elizabeth Gaskell's House presents a new online course. Literature is full of impressive female characters and now you can enjoy four feisty females from your favourite novelists with a new online course from Elizabeth Gaskell’s House! So join Sherry Ashworth this autumn/winter for cosy nights in with other literature fans to take a fresh look […]
of all the weary, killing wearing out bustles in this life that of the last week passed all belief’. Elizabeth Gaskell to her friend Eliza Fox, 1852 Elizabeth Gaskell was a modern woman in many ways. She managed a hugely successful writing career, was a hands-on mother to four girls and supported her husband’s work. […]
« All Events Autumn Meeting 2025 – Place in the Novels of Mrs Isabella Banks 20 September , 10:30 am - 1:00 pm This year's Joan Leach Memorial Lecture will be given by Michelle Ravenscroft - more information to follow.10.30am - Coffee11am - Place in the Novels of Mrs Isabella Banks - Michelle Ravenscroft12noon - […]
Every year, on a Sunday close to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell's birthday, we lay flowers on Elizabeth Gaskell's grave (10.45am) at Brook Street Chapel in Knutsford. We also lay flowers on the nearby grave of the Gaskell Society's founder, the much-missed Joan Leach. We then go into the chapel for a special service, […]
Join Curator Elinor Camille-Wood as she takes you on fabulous fashion journey. You can find out more about the novel and tv adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic North and South. Take a peek at what characters like Margaret Hale would have worn in the 1850s, from large skirts to beautiful bonnets in an age of clothing […]
« All Events Samuel Bamford and the Gaskells 7 October , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 We're delighted to welcome Robert Poole to our October meeting. He'll talk about the radical writer and reformer, Samuel Bamford (1788-1872), best known for his prominent role in the 1819 Peterloo demonstration in Manchester and his […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 28 October , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
More information on our speaker and subject, plus booking links to follow. In the meantime, do please save the date! Everyone is most welcome to come along, members and non-members alike. Doors open at 1pm (feel free to bring a packed lunch) and the talk will begin at 1.30pm. Tickets are £5 for members, £6 […]
A talk by Dr Julia Allen These two women were regarded as being outstanding authors during the times in which they lived. Mary Sidney Herbert (1561-1621) is mainly associated with her accomplished poetic translations of the Psalms. Amongst her other publications is a play based on the Antony and Cleopatra story, before Shakespeare wrote his […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 25 November , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
More information on our speaker and subject, plus booking links to follow. In the meantime, do please save the date! Everyone is most welcome to come along, members and non-members alike. Doors open at 1pm (feel free to bring a packed lunch) and the talk will begin at 1.30pm. Tickets are £5 for members, £6 […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 27 January , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
We're delighted to welcome Philip Morey to our February meeting. He will be talking about Continental Travellers' Tales of Manchester. More information to follow, but in the meantime, please save the date. Everyone is most welcome to come along, members and non-members alike. Doors open at 1pm (feel free to bring a packed lunch) and […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 24 February , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
We're thrilled that our speaker for March will be the wonderful author Livi Michael, who will talk about the background research undertaken for her Victorian novel, Elizabeth and Ruth, published by Salt (February 2026). Manchester 1849. Elizabeth Gaskell, newly famous author of Mary Barton, visits a young Irish prostitute in Manchester’s New Bailey prison. The […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 31 March , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
« All Events Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd 28 April , 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm £5 – £6 Dr Diane Duffy continues her popular study session series looking at Elizabeth Gaskell's literary legacy. This season, she turns her attention to this classic work by Thomas Hardy. As Diane […]
