The Gaskell Society and its partners host a year-round programme of meetings and special events, most of which are open to everyone. We’re very friendly – and we’d love to meet you, whether or not you choose to join the Society.
July 2019
‘Household Commotion’: Elizabeth Gaskell and the ‘awful treasure’ of her servants, 1832-1865.
A new, interactive exhibition exploring in detail some of the individual servants that worked for the Gaskell family including Hearn, Elizabeth’s faithful housekeeper, and Will Preston, the outdoor servant from Cumbria, whose letter was found during the renovation work. A Letter to William In July 2016, while working on the Coach House at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, workmen discovered a letter wedged between the brickwork and roof trusses in what is now the Nightingale room. Although the pages were badly scorched,…
Find out more »Summer Evening Talk: Mary Barton’s Manchester
Join us for a summer evening talk on the 1840s Manchester of Elizabeth Gaskell’s first novel, Mary Barton. Dr Diane Duffy will lead you on a literary journey of discovery of the places, buildings and landmarks of the city as featured in the book, with extracts from the text to map the way. This fascinating talk will interest anyone who wants to find out more about historical Manchester in Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing and is a perfect companion to Sherry Ashworth’s introductory…
Find out more »Victorian Book Group – Brideshead Revisited
July's meeting is all about Evelyn Waugh's classic novel. The Victorian book group continues its focus on reading (and rereading) classic works of fiction. Our scope spans the long nineteenth century and often includes neo-Victorian novels. We are especially interested in writings by and about women, and always feature one work by Elizabeth Gaskell. In 2019, we will explore the genre of the family saga and continue our investigation of how the British novel developed in conversation with other national…
Find out more »The Gaskell Society Conference 2019
Elizabeth Gaskell: Working-Class Politics and Culture at The Tankersley Manor Hotel which is situated between Sheffield and Barnsley. Set in modest grounds, with full leisure facilities, including a pool, it offers ample parking and easy access to the M1 motorway. As is usual, our Friday evening speakers will talk about the industrial and literary aspects of the area. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, we have five speakers- Professor Francis O’Gorman: John Ruskin and the Working-Class Professor Robert Poole: Elizabeth Gaskell…
Find out more »Narratives of Ageing in the Nineteenth Century
Organisers: Dr Amy Culley, Dr Alice Crossley, Dr Rebecca Styler 9.00 Registration (open plan area outside lifts, floor 3: or turn right at the top of the stairs) 9.45 Welcome (ATB3116) 10.00 Panel session 1 (see below for details of panel papers - abstracts on conference website) 1A Writing and Im/maturity (ATB3101) 1B Ageing as Decline? (ATB3202) 11.20 Coffee break 11.40 Panel sessions: 2A Women Ageing with Authority(ATB3101) 2B Recovering the Ageing Body (ATB3202) 1.00 Lunch (provided) 2.00 Panel sessions:…
Find out more »September 2019
Goodness, Truth and Beauty in the Works of John Ruskin and his Contemporaries
In her review of Ruskin’s 'Modern Painters 3', George Eliot writes: ‘The truth of infinite value that he teaches is realism- the doctrine that all truth and beauty are to be attained by a humble and faithful study of nature, and not by substituting vague forms, bred by imagination on the mists of feeling, in a place of definite, substantial reality.’ Through the nineteenth-century, Ruskin, Eliot and a number of Victorian reformers sought to clarify the divine and human sources…
Find out more »Heritage Open Days and Annual Academy Service at Cairo Street Chapel
Visit the historic chapel and gardens at Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel in Warrington for Heritage Open Weekend 2019. The Chapel has many monuments to past members of the chapel including many members of the Gaskell family. The Annual Academy Service will feature a talk by Ray Beecham, a member of the congregation, on the life of Samuel Gaskell (1807-1886) , Commissioner for Lunacy of England and Wales. Gaskell is a forgotten man of Warrington, who led the transformation of the treatment and…
Find out more »London & South East Gaskell Society Meeting
Out in Public with Gaskell's Women A talk by Dr Flore Janssen Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels form perfect illustrations of the mid-nineteenth-century debates around women in the public sphere. Crossing class boundaries and addressing the world of work, novels like Mary Barton, Ruth, and North and South show women whose work and personal commitments require them to assert their presence in the public sphere, both literally, walking alone in busy streets, and figuratively, in their engagement with matters of law and business. This talk addresses…
Find out more »Heritage Open Days and Annual Academy Service at Cairo Street Chapel
Visit the historic chapel and gardens at Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel in Warrington for Heritage Open Weekend 2019. The Chapel has many monuments to past members of the chapel including many members of the Gaskell family. The Annual Academy Service will feature a talk by Ray Beecham, a member of the congregation, on the life of Samuel Gaskell (1807-1886) , Commissioner for Lunacy of England and Wales. Gaskell is a forgotten man of Warrington, who led the transformation of the treatment and…
Find out more »Victorian Book Group – Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family
The September meeting is about Thomas Mann's 1901 novel which details the decline of a wealthy German merchant family over four generations. The Victorian book group continues its focus on reading (and rereading) classic works of fiction. Our scope spans the long nineteenth century and often includes neo-Victorian novels. We are especially interested in writings by and about women, and always feature one work by Elizabeth Gaskell. In 2019, we will explore the genre of the family saga and continue…
Find out more »Gaskell Memorial Service
Every year, on a Sunday close to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell's birthday, we lay flowers on her grave and 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. You are most welcome to join us. 10.45 am Laying flowers on the graves 11.00 am. Gaskell service
Find out more »The Old Nurse’s Story – discussion
Join Diane Duffy for a discussion on The Old Nurse's Story. The story can be found in collections of Gothic stories, ghost stories and tales of the macabre, something which might seem odd for a woman who was the wife of a Unitarian minister and, as a Unitarian, a believer in the rational. So what exactly was Gaskell’s attitude to the supernatural – or at least superstition – and how might this attitude inform her so-called ghost stories? In fact,…
Find out more »Gaskell Society Autumn Meeting
The Joan Leach Memorial Lecture: 'Narrating Sexuality' by Carolyn Lambert Gaskell was intrigued by questions of gender & sexuality and explored these in her writing in surprising ways. This presentation focuses on Gaskell's presentations of masculinity in her shorter fiction but also her subversive challenges to cultural expectations of femininity. Carolyn Lambert is a visiting lecturer at the University of Brighton where she teaches nineteenth-century literature. She is the author of The Meanings of Home in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Fiction (Brighton: Victorian Secrets, 2013)…
Find out more »Elizabeth Gaskell’s Birthday Talk: Elizabeth Gaskell and Gossip
We’re celebrating Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday with a glass of wine and a good gossip! The Gaskell Society’s Elizabeth Williams will discuss Elizabeth Gaskell’s sharp eye and sharper tongue in this fascinating talk on Gaskell and gossip. Is gossip just malicious tittle-tattle, or could it be a compelling kind of story-telling? Find out more, as we delve into Elizabeth Gaskell’s writings to decide just what her gossip entails! Please join us for a complimentary glass of wine prior to the talk…
Find out more »October 2019
Manchester Meeting at Cross Street Chapel
The Whitfield Collection, Knutsford Library A talk by Linda Clarke, Archivist at Cheshire Archives & Local Studies Knutsford Library holds a wonderful collection of Gaskell-related books, letters, cuttings, photographs, journals, foreign language editions, dramatisations, literary criticisms and background material, originally collected by Professor A Stanton Whitfield (1900-1975). Linda will talk about this publicly available collection and its relevance and interest to the Gaskell enthusiasts of today. The talk will begin at 1:30pm, but doors open at 1.00pm,…
Find out more »Florence Nightingale – Behind the Legend
Discover the person behind the legend. Florence Nightingale was a gifted and complex woman who became a legend in her own lifetime. This illustrated talk will attempt to portray and explain her background, her motives and her struggle to lead an independent life, her rise to fame as “the lady with the lamp” and her success in public health reforms. Elizabeth Gaskell was a friend of Florence’s sister, Parthenope, who painted the picture of Florence that we have in the…
Find out more »October Pen Portrait
Published writer and Gaskell House volunteer Philip Watts has created a collection of four monologues in the form of imaginary letters in which members of the Gaskell circle – Elizabeth, William, Margaret and Charlotte Brontë – discuss the artistic representations of themselves to be found in the house. Each lasts ten minutes and provides an entertaining way to learn more about the house and its occupants. One of the monologues will be performed every first Sunday of the month at…
Find out more »October Second-hand Book Sale
On the second Sunday of each month, Elizabeth Gaskell's House hosts a fantastic second-hand book sale, downstairs in the Servants Hall. All proceeds go towards supporting operations and events in the House. The tearoom always has a fine selection of new and second-hand books for sale, but this is the big one! It's a chance to browse a much wider selection – two rooms filled with second-hand books, donated by book-lovers! The selection includes a variety of fiction, art, gardening,…
Find out more »Victorian Book Group – The Age of Innocence
October sees the turn of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, set in New York's high society of the 1870s. The Victorian book group continues its focus on reading (and rereading) classic works of fiction. Our scope spans the long nineteenth century and often includes neo-Victorian novels. We are especially interested in writings by and about women, and always feature one work by Elizabeth Gaskell. In 2019, we will explore the genre of the family saga and continue our investigation of how…
Find out more »Knutsford Meeting – October 2019
In October and November, we'll be discussing Cousin Phillis. Our monthly meetings are held on the last Wednesday of each month, between October and April (except December). An excellent buffet lunch is served at 12.30pm followed by a talk and discussion, led by Dr Diane Duffy, 2-3pm. Read Diane Duffy's blog post about the novella here. There will also be a chance to visit the Gaskell Exhibition Room, upstairs in the Chapel Hall building. Everyone is most welcome. £10…
Find out more »Elizabeth Gaskell’s Gothic Tales
Get into the Halloween spirit and join us for a lunch-time talk on Elizabeth Gaskell’s gothic tales, with Gaskell Society committee member, Dr Diane Duffy. Mysterious vanishings, eerie old buildings, windswept moors and ghostly goings-on: Elizabeth Gaskell’s goosebump-inducing gothic stories are a far cry from the gritty Manchester novels with which she’s often associated. Come along at 1pm to find out more about these dark and decidedly spine-tingling tales.
Find out more »November 2019
Manchester Meeting at Cross Street Chapel
Elizabeth Gaskell’s French Connection A talk by John Greenwood, Editor of the Gaskell Newsletter John will talk about the important influences of all things French on Gaskell and her writing. His particular focus will be on the actual presence of the French language in Gaskell’s novels, short stories and articles. The talk will begin at 1:30pm, but doors open at 1.00pm, so please feel free to bring a packed lunch and eat with us. The chapel provides tea and coffee for…
Find out more »London & South East Gaskell Society Meeting
Connectedness in Cranford A talk by Annick Pommier Elizabeth Gaskell led a highly connected life. She built a vast and varied social network over a relatively short period of time and the thousand or so letters that she wrote give us a glimpse of a woman for whom forging and maintaining connections was essential. Her need to connect was not confined to her personality and social life and extends to her works. In her presentation, Annick will explore some of the…
Find out more »November Second-hand Book Sale
On the second Sunday of each month, Elizabeth Gaskell's House hosts a fantastic second-hand book sale, downstairs in the Servants Hall. All proceeds go towards supporting operations and events in the House. The tearoom always has a fine selection of new and second-hand books for sale, but this is the big one! It's a chance to browse a much wider selection – two rooms filled with second-hand books, donated by book-lovers! The selection includes a variety of fiction, art, gardening,…
Find out more »Cloth and Class: Paisley Shawls in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Writing
Paisley shawls are a recurring motif in Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing. What is their importance and meaning in her work? Join designer and textile lecturer Margo Singer to find out, in this fascinating talk. Take the chance to see the display of original paisley wool scarves from the Elizabeth Gaskell Family Collection too.
Find out more »As you’ll appreciate, arrangements can change, so please be sure to check details before you leave home.