The Gaskell Society

Elizabeth 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 […]

This 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’, […]

Elizabeth 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 […]

This 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.  

Author 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. […]

We'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 […]

We'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 […]

We'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 […]

Victorian’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 […]