The Gaskell Society

The Gaskell Society

Celebrating the life and work of Elizabeth Gaskell

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Online Talk: North and South – The TV Adaptation

Zoom online only, United Kingdom

We are thrilled that Elizabeth Gaskell's House is celebrating North and South during 2022, with a special season of events and talks! The BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic novel was a surprise instant hit with television audiences when it aired in 2004. A key part of its appeal was the performance of the two […]

£4

Knutsford Meeting – March 2022

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

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne joins Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth in the line-up in our March and April meetings, as Dr Diane Duffy begins a discussion exploring the two works side-by-side.  Diane will be looking at the situation and presentations of the two protagonists, Hester Prynne and Ruth, along with the presentation of children.In March, we'll […]

£5 – £6

The Gaskell Society Annual General Meeting 2022

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Our AGM takes place at Cross Street Chapel in Manchester, and also over Zoom. 10.00 Tea and Coffee 10.30 AGM 11.45 The Daphne Carrick Memorial Lecture Elizabeth Gaskell and the Gregs of Styal and Bollington by Anthony Burton Anthony Burton has a degree in English Literature and was a curator at the Victoria and Albert […]

Elizabeth Gaskell and the Lushington Family

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

“I do like Mr Lushington very much”: Elizabeth Gaskell and the Lushington family. A presentation by Dr David Taylor, author of The Remarkable Lushington Family. Reformers, Pre-Raphaelites, Positivists and the Bloomsbury Group. David will be talking about Vernon Lushington, a friend of Elizabeth’s, who was a frequent visitor to her home at Plymouth Grove. Tickets are £13 […]

£13.50

Knutsford Meeting – April 2022

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

The second of our discussions looking at The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth, in which Dr Diane Duffy compares the two works. In April, Diane will lead a discussion on Pearl (the child) and her father, with a focus on chapters 6, 8, 15, 18, 19 and the last two. Our monthly […]

£5 – £6

Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens: A Relationship in Print

Francis Holland School 39 Graham Terrace, London, United Kingdom

We are delighted to be able to let you know that - at long last - our London & South East branch meetings will start again on Saturday 7th May, when Marie Moxon will be speaking on how Gaskell’s relationship with Dickens changed the course of her writing The meeting will take place at Francis […]

Dudley Green Memorial Service

Blackburn Cathedral Cathedral Close, Blackburn, United Kingdom

Dudley Green was a life member of the Gaskell Society, serving on the committee, giving lectures, writing articles and joining study tours. He was a gentleman with personal charm and great humour. We have missed his presence at our North West meetings since he moved to London a few years ago. A Memorial Service for Dudley […]

The Gaskell Society Conference 2022

Celtic Royal Hotel Bangor Street, Caernarfon, North Wales, United Kingdom

"A Monstrous Regiment of Women": Elizabeth Gaskell and her Contemporaries. Friday 8 - Monday 11 July, 2022. The Celtic Royal Hotel, Caernarfon The Conference is now sold out. The full and final line-up for our Conference delegates is at our Conference page. We can't wait to see you in Caernarfon

Industrial Labour and Cultural Engagement in the Long Nineteenth Century

Friends' Meeting House Mount Street, Manchester

This conference is designed to expand on the remit of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project and to discuss and reflect upon a wider range of cultural activities engaged in by industrial workers – for example, as dramatists and theatre-goers, as musicians and composers, as artists and visitors to exhibitions and galleries – as well […]

Pen Portraits – Literary Letters Brought to Life

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

A famous writer hiding behind the curtain, a mysterious lady in a portrait and a female author stepping beyond her limits while her scholarly husband makes kites. Pen Portraits is a new series of dramatic monologues in which the original portraits of Elizabeth, William and Margaret Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë come to life through the […]

£7.00 – £9.00

Heritage Open Day at Cairo Street

Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel 4 Cairo Street, Warrington, United Kingdom

Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel Cairo Street is the oldest dissenting Chapel in Warrington and has a wealth of history connected with the town. William and Ann Robson with many other members of the congregation established the Warrington Anti Slavery Society and an Obelisk in their memory is located in the Chapel gardens. There are many […]

Heritage Open Day at Cairo Street

Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel 4 Cairo Street, Warrington, United Kingdom

Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel Cairo Street is the oldest dissenting Chapel in Warrington and has a wealth of history connected with the town. William and Ann Robson with many other members of the congregation established the Warrington Anti Slavery Society and an Obelisk in their memory is located in the Chapel gardens. There are many […]

Online Talk: Milton and Manchester- the Backdrop to North and South

Zoom online only, United Kingdom

We are thrilled that Elizabeth Gaskell's House is celebrating North and South during 2022, with a special season of events and talks! The romance of Elizabeth Gaskell’s famous novel North and South is set against the harsh industrial backdrop of her own city of Manchester, thinly disguised as ‘Milton’ in her writing. Her description of industrial […]

£4

The Gaskell Memorial Service 2022

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. 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 from […]

Manchester Meeting – Mr Darwin & Mrs Gaskell

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

Mr Darwin and Mrs Gaskell: a tale of two storytellersIn October, we welcome Gordon Chancellor, who will examine the many connections between Charles Darwin and Elizabeth Gaskell, both in their family lives and in their work as great Victorian storytellers. They were distantly related via the Wedgwoods and Hollands and they both had daughters whose […]

£5 – £6

Knutsford Meeting – October 2022

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

It's a new season and a new novel! Our discussion series for 2022-23 will look at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how […]

£5 – £6

Manchester Meeting – “I do like Mr Lushington very much”

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

We're delighted to welcome David Taylor FSA to our November meeting. The Home Quartet (Mrs Lushington and her Daughters) by Arthur HughesVernon Lushington was a close friend of Elizabeth Gaskell and visited her often in Manchester, being a welcome guest at her house in Plymouth Grove.  He was a lawyer, civil servant, philanthropist and Christian […]

£5 – £6

Scumbling: Gaskell’s Turneresque Aesthetics

Francis Holland School 39 Graham Terrace, London, United Kingdom

We welcome back Annick Pommier, who is continuing her PhD research at Université Paris Cité and who will talk about the impact of John Ruskin and J.M.W. Turner on Gaskell’s writing. Gaskell’s dear American friend, Charles Eliot Norton, remembered a conversation with Gaskell and her daughters about the contemporary book they would choose if they […]

Knutsford Meeting – November 2022

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

Our discussion series for 2022-23 looks at Wives and Daughters. First published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine, between August 1864 and January 1866, Wives and Daughters was unfinished when Elizabeth died suddenly in 1865. This is many people's favourite Gaskell novel, which perhaps shows how her writing was getting better and better. We can […]

£5 – £6

Online Talk: Vintage Victorian Christmas Cards

online

The Victorians loved the festive season and created a new tradition of sending Christmas cards by important illustrators such as Kate Greenaway and Alice Havers. Victorian cards often included the bizarre and creepy with everything from murderous mice to feisty frogs marking the season. So, just why were Victorian Christmas cards so odd? Join Dr […]

£5

Manchester Meeting – The Restoration of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street,, Manchester, United Kingdom

We're especially delighted to welcome our dear friend, Frank Galvin, for our December illustrated talk. Frank is a retired museum curator who worked for Stockport’s Heritage Service for 32 years: he was responsible for Stockport’s eight heritage sites and managed a team of curators, designers and technicians. His projects included the Hat Works, The Stockport […]

£5 – £6

Online Talk: Christmas Literature

online

'I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year…' A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is the best known and most loved of all Christmas novels with its tale of Scrooge’s seasonal redemption through Christmas Past, Present and Future. But as we step into Christmas, the Gaskell Society's Anthony […]

£5

Second-Hand Book Sale

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

The monthly second-hand book sale at Elizabeth Gaskell's House is a must-visit for book lovers. Two rooms packed full of books of all genres, including contemporary fiction, art, gardening, photography, classics, OS maps, biographies, history, cookery, social history and children’s! With new stock every month there are treasures to be found. Prices start at just £1 […]

Second-Hand Book Sale

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

The monthly second-hand book sale at Elizabeth Gaskell's House is a must-visit for book lovers. Two rooms packed full of books of all genres, including contemporary fiction, art, gardening, photography, classics, OS maps, biographies, history, cookery, social history and children’s! With new stock every month there are treasures to be found. Prices start at just £1 […]

New Year Lunch, 2023

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. And tickets cost less than they did in 2022! Members old and new, non-members and […]

£25 – £27