The Gaskell Society

Celebrating the life and work of Elizabeth Gaskell

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Online Talk: Victorian Christmas in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Manchester

online

At the start of Queen Victoria’s reign, Christmas meant little to commercial Manchester but during the 1840s-1860s the city came to share in an upsurge of enthusiasm for the festive season. Elizabeth Gaskell’s Manchester saw a boom in the Christmas trade in food, wine and gifts, the expansion of seasonal entertainments like pantomime and the […]

£5

New Year Lunch, 2024

Cottons Hotel and Spa Manchester Road, Knutsford, United Kingdom

We're thrilled to welcome back members and friends for our wonderfully convivial New Year lunch - a firm favourite in our society's calendar. Join us at the the Cottons Hotel, Knutsford for a three-course lunch, including coffee and after-lunch entertainment. Members old and new, non-members and guests are all most welcome to join us. Tuesday […]

£29.83

Knutsford Meeting – January 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season.Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. After their […]

£5 – £6

The Victorian House: Elizabeth Gaskell’s House in Context

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Is Elizabeth Gaskell's House a 'typical' Victorian house?  Surely houses changed a lot over Victoria's 63-year-long reign? Anthony Burton examines various aspects of Victorian domestic architecture, in order to show how Elizabeth Gaskell's House fits in. Doors open at 1pm and the talk begins at 1.30pm. We'll make a recording available for online viewing after the […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – February 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season. Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – Elizabeth Gaskell in the Digital World

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

We're thrilled to welcome Jessica Smith, Creative Arts Archivist at the John Ryland Research Institute and Library. As you may know, the John Rylands Library holds a collection of Elizabeth Gaskell's printed works and letters. They hold the original manuscripts for 'The Grey Woman', Wives and Daughters, The Life of Charlotte Brontë and 'The Crooked […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – March 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season. Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. […]

£5 – £6

The Gaskell Society Annual General Meeting 2024

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Our Annual General Meeting takes place at Cross Street Chapel in Manchester 10.00 Tea and Coffee 10.30 Annual General Meeting 11.45 The Daphne Carrick Memorial Lecture - Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell Dr Emma Probett is a writer, researcher and podcaster. She has a PhD in Victorian Studies and is currently writing a book on Jane […]

Knutsford Meeting – April 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Our Chair, Dr Diane Duffy will be discussing Sylvia's Lovers for the 2023-24 Knutsford season. Gaskell’s only historical novel, Sylvia’s Lovers is set in the fictional coastal town of Monkshaven, against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives a simple enough life on the farm, when she meets Charlie Kinraid, a dashing seaman. […]

£5 – £6

The Alliance of Literary Societies AGM Weekend, Bowness

Various Venues, Bowness-on-Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere, United Kingdom

The Gaskell Society is a member of the Alliance of Literary Societies (ALS), so our members are most welcome to attend the Alliance's Gathering and AGM. This year, it's hosted by the Arthur Ransome Society, so it's in a wonderful setting! Booking for the weekend in Bowness-on-Windermere is now open. Friday 17 May – Two […]

Exploring the Brontë Sisters in the Vicarage

The Vicarage Parkgate Road, Chester, United Kingdom

Our friend, Professor Deborah Wynne, is hosting a study day at the University of Chester, focusing on the work of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. There will be a reading group discussion as part of the event 10:00am: Arrival and welcome 10:15am: Alison Newbold on the work of Emily Brontë 10:35am: Professor Melissa Fegan on […]

Free

Second-Hand Book Sale

Elizabeth Gaskell's House 84 Plymouth Grove,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Named as ‘Manchester’s best second-hand book sale‘ the Elizabeth Gaskell’s House second-hand book sale is a must visit for book lovers. Held within Manchester’s very own literary house, there are two rooms packed full of second-hand books of all genres. You can browse a wide variety of good quality contemporary fiction, crime, thrillers, classics, OS maps, biographies, […]

Cynthia V Molly: ‘Love me as I am, sweet one, for I shall never be better.’

online

Molly is the moral heart of classic novel Wives and Daughters but it is her flawed step-sister Cynthia who may appeal to readers more. The two girls are a study in comparisons. Molly is concerned with goodness while Cynthia’s relationship with her ghastly mother Mrs Gibson echoes that of Lizzy and Mrs Bennet in Jane […]

£5

Villette V Ruth: Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell

online

Charlotte Brontë is a giant of Victorian literature and the much-loved author of the classic Jane Eyre, but what of her last novel to be published during her lifetime, Villette, about the passion and pain of unrequited love? Brontë’s semi-autobiographical book Villette tells the story of Lucy Snowe as she flees England for a Belgian […]

£6

Gaskell Society Conference 2024

Sketchley Grange Hotel Sketchley Ln,, Burbage, Hinckley, Leicestershire, United Kingdom

A Passport to freedom: Women Travellers in the 19th Century We're delighted to announce that our next conference, on the theme of Travel, will take place between 5 and 8 July 2024 at the Sketchley Grange Hotel & Spa, a 4-star country house hotel on the borders of Leicestershire and Warwickshire. We've gathering together an […]

price tbc

As Seen on Screen – Costume in TV Adaptations

online

Join Curator Elinor Camille-Wood as she takes you on a riotous journey through the fabulously outrageous fashions of the 1830s, the time Elizabeth Gaskell set her novel, Wives and Daughters. Discover what the characters would have worn from large sleeves to intricate hairstyles in a period of flamboyant ladies and fashionable gentleman. The talk will […]

£5

Second-Hand Book Sale

Elizabeth Gaskell's House 84 Plymouth Grove,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Named as ‘Manchester’s best second-hand book sale‘ the Elizabeth Gaskell’s House second-hand book sale is a must visit for book lovers. Held within Manchester’s very own literary house, there are two rooms packed full of second-hand books of all genres. You can browse a wide variety of good quality contemporary fiction, crime, thrillers, classics, OS maps, biographies, […]

Second-Hand Book Sale

Elizabeth Gaskell's House 84 Plymouth Grove,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Named as ‘Manchester’s best second-hand book sale‘ the Elizabeth Gaskell’s House second-hand book sale is a must visit for book lovers. Held within Manchester’s very own literary house, there are two rooms packed full of second-hand books of all genres. You can browse a wide variety of good quality contemporary fiction, crime, thrillers, classics, OS maps, biographies, […]

Charles Darwin – Literary Science in Wives and Daughters

online

Elizabeth Gaskell’s final novel Wives and Daughters explores the Victorian interest in science and logic through the character of Roger Hamley and the gentleman scientist Lord Hollingford. Roger was heavily based on the famous evolutionary scientist, and author of The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin. Wives and Daughters was Darwin’s favourite novel and he […]

£5

Second-Hand Book Sale

Elizabeth Gaskell's House 84 Plymouth Grove,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Named as ‘Manchester’s best second-hand book sale‘ the Elizabeth Gaskell’s House second-hand book sale is a must visit for book lovers. Held within Manchester’s very own literary house, there are two rooms packed full of second-hand books of all genres. You can browse a wide variety of good quality contemporary fiction, crime, thrillers, classics, OS maps, biographies, […]

Online Talk: Wives and Daughters vs Mansfield Park – The Domestic Novel

online

Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell are two of the nation’s best-loved authors. Rightly lauded for their classic works, they are often depicted as writing about marriage and the narrow social confines of women’s lives. Now, we look at them afresh as we explore the ‘domestic novel’ of the 19th century. Many Georgian and Victorian stories […]

£5

Autumn Meeting 2024 – Moss and Mosses in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Worlds

Knutsford Methodist Church Princess Street, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Moss and Mosses in Elizabeth Gaskell's Worlds This year's Joan Leach Memorial Lecture will be given by Dr Ingrid Hanson. In Mary Barton, Margaret’s grandfather Job Legh has been out ‘moss-hunting’, Margaret tells Mary, and the elderly Alice, reminiscing about her countryside youth, says to the girls: ‘Eh, lasses! ye don’t know what rocks are in […]

Brontë

Manchester Central Library St Peter's Square, Manchester

“I read for the same reason that I ate or drank; because it was a real craving of nature.”  Join our friends, Kantos Chamber Choir as they examine the lives and passions of the mysterious Brontë sisters through the eyes of their friend and supporter, Elizabeth Gaskell. Kantos will evoke the wild, exposed landscapes of […]

£5 – £15

Brontë

Haworth Church Church Street, Haworth, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

“I read for the same reason that I ate or drank; because it was a real craving of nature.”  Join our friends, Kantos Chamber Choir as they examine the lives and passions of the mysterious Brontë sisters through the eyes of their friend and supporter, Elizabeth Gaskell. Kantos will evoke the wild, exposed landscapes of […]

£5 – £15

The Gaskell Memorial Service 2024

Brook Street Chapel Adam's Hill,, Knutsford, United Kingdom

Every year, on a Sunday close to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell's birthday, we lay flowers on her grave (10.45am) at Brook Street Chapel in Knutsford. This year, our service actually falls on the day itself, so our theme is birthdays and celebration. We also lay flowers on the nearby grave of the Gaskell […]