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 […]
Every year, on a Sunday close to what would have been Elizabeth Gaskell's birthday, we lay flowers on her grave 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. You are most […]
An illustrated Zoom talk by Anthony Burton Elizabeth Gaskell’s letters, which reveal so much of her life, tell us something of the shops she patronised in Manchester: this talk recalls them from obscurity. Hear about the interesting selection of bookshops, food shops and clothing shops that Elizabeth visited and how Manchester grew into the shopping […]
The Joan Leach Memorial Lecture Stubborn Facts from the Factories: James Leach & the Industrial Background to Mrs Gaskell's Fiction. We're delighted to welcome Dr Mike Sanders, who'll deliver the Joan Leach Memorial Lecture at our Autumn meeting - our first 'live' meeting since since March 2020! We can't wait to see you all again! We'll also […]