BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//The Gaskell Society - ECPv6.17.5//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Gaskell Society REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20220327T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20221030T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20230326T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20231029T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20240331T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20241027T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20270328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20271031T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260303 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260401 DTSTAMP:20260303T111436Z CREATED:20260303T105017Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T111436Z UID:8736-1772496000-1775001599@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING - Ruth\, from Fact to Fiction with Livi Michael DESCRIPTION:RECORDING – Ruth\, from Fact to Fiction with Livi Michael\n 3 March\n –\n 31 March \n\n£5 – £6 \nOur speaker on 3 March was the author Livi Michael\, who told us about the background research undertaken for her novel\, Elizabeth and Ruth\, published by Salt (February 2026). \nManchester 1849. Elizabeth Gaskell\, newly famous author of Mary Barton\, visits a young Irish prostitute in Manchester’s New Bailey prison. The girl is about to be discharged onto the brutal streets of Manchester\, where her old life of poverty and violence awaits. Elizabeth is determined to help her\, but few people will employ an ex-prostitute from prison. In desperation\, Elizabeth writes to Charles Dickens for advice. \nBased on the real correspondence between Gaskell and Dickens\, Elizabeth and Ruth tells a story of hypocrisy and suppression\, and how Elizabeth navigates the censorship and prejudice of the day to help the young girl and to write the novel about her that will ultimately be banned and burned after publication. \nYour ticket will give you access to an online recording of Livi’s talk\, which will be available to watch at your convenience until 31 March 2026.  \n\n \n \n\n Categories:\n Meeting\, Online\, talk \n\n The Gaskell Society\n\n \n \n \nView Organiser Website \n\n \n gaskellsociety@gmail.com \n \n\n online\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n \n Add to calendar \n \n \n \n\n\n Google Calendar\n\n\n iCalendar\n\n\n Outlook 365\n\n\n Outlook Live\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell – Far From the Madding Crowd \n\n\n \n Manchester Meeting – 'Elizabeth and Ruth' with Livi Michael URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/recording-ruth/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Meeting,Online,talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image.png ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260203T000000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260228T000000 DTSTAMP:20260212T174129Z CREATED:20260204T163500Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260212T174129Z UID:8557-1770076800-1772236800@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING - The Earliest Continental Travellers' Tales of Manchester DESCRIPTION:The term grand tour conjures up English aristocrats sent to the Continent to complete their cultural education.  Less well known is the reverse grand tour. In the first half of the eighteenth century Continental visitors came in increasing numbers to Great Britain (including Voltaire\, Montesquieu and Rousseau).  None came to Manchester. \nIt was not until the 1760s that awareness of British progress in technology and trade led Continentals to venture up North.  Governments sent ‘spies’ to view industrial production\, inspect mines\, and report on inland navigation.  And as travel writing vied with the novel in popularity\, these visitors were followed by authors keen to satisfy the demand for guidebooks and travel diaries.  All in all about two dozen of these first reports of Manchester from 1760 to 1805 survive\, mainly by German and French writers\, together with one each from Dutch\, Italian\, Danish and Swedish writers.\n\nWhy did they come?  What did they think noteworthy about Manchester and its inhabitants\, what disconcerting?  What were its distinguishing features?  And how did they interpret their observations to their readership?   This will be the subject of Philip Morey‘s talk. He will focus on the foreigners’ varied reactions to the town and its surroundings\, its urban environment\, canal network\, industry\, inhabitants and leisure pursuits – at a time when the overwhelming majority find the nascent Industrial Revolution inspiring.\nTickets are £5 for members\, £6 for non-members (no booking fee). Your ticket will give you access to the recording link and its password. It will be available to view until 28 February 2026.  URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/the-earliest-continental-travellers-tales-of-manchester-recording/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Manchester,Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251203T090000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260101T235500 DTSTAMP:20251202T164147Z CREATED:20251201T122911Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251202T164147Z UID:8380-1764752400-1767311700@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING ACCESS - Christmas Travel in Elizabeth Gaskell's Day DESCRIPTION:Elizabeth Gaskell liked to spend Christmas quietly by her fireside.  But around her\, Victorian people showed increasing seasonal mobility.   Children came to celebrate with the family:  “Home for the Holidays” was a recurrent theme\, featuring exuberant schoolboys in stage-coaches.  Then came the railways\, with special trains even on Christmas Day.  Food was also on the move: at home the beef or turkey on the table had probably walked to market\, and Christmas fruits came from the Mediterranean\, the tropics\, China.  Finally\, from the safety of their armchairs\, Victorian readers liked to discover from the media how a traditional British Christmas was celebrated at the remote ends of the empire and beyond. \nAnthony Burton\, after degrees in English literature\, worked as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum\, London\, specialising in the visual and literary culture of the Victorian period. He’s an active member of the Gaskell Society Committee and is currently editor of the Gaskell Society newsletter. He’s the author of a number of publications for the Society\, including Christmas with the Gaskells\, Elizabeth Gaskell: Homes and Haunts and Elizabeth Gaskell\, Manchester’s Versatile Storyteller. \nYour ticket will give you access to an online video recording\, which you can view on the Gaskell Society website. We’ll leave the video online for viewing until 31 December 2025.  \n  URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/recording-christmas-travel-2025/ LOCATION:onine CATEGORIES:Meeting,Online,talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/a-merry-christmas-995d4b.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251105 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251201 DTSTAMP:20251107T174022Z CREATED:20251103T162856Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251107T174022Z UID:8308-1762300800-1764547199@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING ACCESS - "That Wicked Paris": Fashioning the Good Englishwoman DESCRIPTION:« All Events \n5 November\n–\n30 November \nRECORDING ACCESS – “That Wicked Paris”: Fashioning the Good Englishwoman\n£5 – £6 \n \nProfessor Amy L. Montz (University of Southern Indiana) gave our November lecture. She is the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at the University of Manchester. \nThe crises of authenticity sparked by the expanding British Empire and increasing contact with France often were articulated through fictional and non-fictional discussions of fashion. As Englishwomen were figured as symbols of nation\, attention to their presentations of self\, and therefore of Englishness\, became anxious attention to their fashion choices. The minute details of dress – petticoats\, turbans\, crinolines\, and fabrics – became a particular point of discussion for Sarah Stickney Ellis\, Eliza Lynn Linton\, and Elizabeth Gaskell\, and these pieces of ensemble were read for national as well as personal origin and allegiance. \nIn this talk\, Amy argues that Gaskell’s Cranford (1853) offers a microcosmic view of the larger English concern over the Empire’s and France’s influence on the people of England through Englishwomen’s fashionable choices. Through its discussions of shawls\, crinolines\, and red umbrellas\, Gaskell’s novel demonstrates that everyday items of domesticity speak not only of the concerns of women\, but also of the concerns of nation. \nAmy’s book\, Dressing for England: Fashion and Nationalism in Victorian Novels will be published by SUNY Press in December 2025. \nTickets are £5 for members\, £6 for non-members. Simply pay on the door or book online with the button below (no booking fee).  \nThis ticket is for online viewing of a recording of Amy’s talk. The Gaskell Society is a UK registered charity (1098017) and your entry fee helps us to host future events.  We will keep the talk available to view until 30 November 2025. Use the link below to book your place. \n\n\n \nCategories:\nmeeting\, online\, talk \nThe Gaskell Society\n  \nView Organiser Website \n\ngaskellsociety@gmail.com \nonline\n \n  \n\n\nAdd to calendar \n \n\nGoogle Calendar\niCalendar\nOutlook 365\nOutlook Live\n\n\n\n\n“That Wicked Paris”: Fashioning the Good Englishwoman \n\nMary Sidney Herbert and Elizabeth Gaskell: networks across time and place URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/that-wicked-paris-recording/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Meeting,Online,talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Fashions-for-1844.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251029T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251029T200000 DTSTAMP:20251013T092013Z CREATED:20251013T092013Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251013T092013Z UID:8098-1761764400-1761768000@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Talk: Halloween – Victorian Ghost Stories DESCRIPTION:You can step into the wild side for a new spine-tingling talk on Victorian ghost stories\, just in time for Halloween! Terrifying tales\, ghostly ghouls\, helpless heroines – there is everything you want in the classic Victorian ghost story. Our Chair\, Dr Diane Duffy (who LOVES a bit of Gothic!)\,  is back with a spellbinding new talk starting with Elizabeth Gaskell’s short story The Old Nurse’s Story. From there\, you can brave the supernatural stories of Catherine Crowe including The Night-side of Nature and her later contribution to Victorian Ghost Stories. Her real-life encounter with the occult once led her to being discovered running naked round Edinburgh late one night. \nNext up is the Four Ghost Stories and Uncanny Stories of Mary Louisa Molesworth\, once a resident of Manchester. Try not to lose yourself in the chilling atmosphere and stories of the unexplained. \nSo\, will you explore these terrifying tales in our scary Halloween talk? Book now\, if you’re bold enough! \n“I enjoyed Diane Duffy’s knowledge & expertise – and lovely humorous delivery.” Visitor to online events \nBook here https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/events/victorian-ghost-stories/ URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/online-talk-halloween-victorian-ghost-stories/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251015T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251015T200000 DTSTAMP:20251013T090740Z CREATED:20251013T090740Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251013T090740Z UID:8095-1760554800-1760558400@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Talk: "A Flattering Malady" - Disease and Dying in Victorian Fiction DESCRIPTION:“Consumption\, I am aware\, is a flattering malady” Charlotte Brontë\, 1849\nDisease and dying were common hazards for characters in Victorian novels. For the modern reader\, 19th century novels can sometimes seem packed full of sentimental deathbeds like Jo’s death in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. The reality was that in 1800 approximately one in every three children died before their 5th birthday. Fatal diseases such as consumption were common for all ages and literature often reflected real life. In this new talk\, Sherry Ashworth takes us on the Grim Reaper’s final journey starting with the heroine’s redemptive death from Typhus in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Ruth. Get your hankies ready for a range of death beds through Victorian fiction including Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Join like-minded literary fans as we ask\, what is the meaning of it all? \n‘Sherry is excellent.’ Visitor to previous online event \nBookings: https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/events/disease-dying/ URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/flattering-malady/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250924T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250924T200000 DTSTAMP:20250707T105947Z CREATED:20250707T105947Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250707T105947Z UID:7777-1758740400-1758744000@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Talk: North and South – Fashion in the TV Classic and Novel DESCRIPTION:Join Curator Elinor Camille-Wood as she takes you on fabulous fashion journey. You can find out more about the novel and tv adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic North and South. Take a peek at what characters like Margaret Hale would have worn in the 1850s\, from large skirts to beautiful bonnets in an age of clothing colour and luxury. Find out about the popular female silhouette\, the latest hairstyles and the stunning new colour dyes that transformed fashion. \nThe talk will include a discussion about the costumes worn in the 2004 BBC adaptation of North and South and other notable on-screen dramas. Elinor Camille-Wood is a freelance Curator whose previous roles have included working with a variety of museums across Yorkshire and most recently with Calderdale Museums opening a Fashion Gallery at Bankfield Museum\, Halifax. She has curated several fashion exhibitions across both Bankfield Museum and Shibden Hall including the hugely popular ‘Costumes from Gentleman Jack’. \n‘Excellent informative speaker’ Visitor to previous online event \nBook here https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/events/online-talk-north-and-south-fashion/ URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/north-and-south-fashion/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250918T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250918T200000 DTSTAMP:20250707T105658Z CREATED:20250707T105658Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250707T105658Z UID:7773-1758222000-1758225600@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Talk: At Home with Elizabeth Gaskell DESCRIPTION:of all the weary\, killing wearing out bustles in this life that of the last week passed all belief’. Elizabeth Gaskell to her friend Eliza Fox\, 1852 \nElizabeth Gaskell was a modern woman in many ways. She managed a hugely successful writing career\, was a hands-on mother to four girls and supported her husband’s work. But what was life really like at home in 84 Plymouth Grove? Take a look behind closed doors at the family and personal life of one of our greatest novelists. How did she mix writing classic works with being a conscientious mother\, managing servants\, acting as hostess to numerous high profile guests\, charity work and a busy social life\, all in an age before easily-available paid childcare? Chair of the Gaskell Society\, Dr Diane Duffy takes a peak inside Elizabeth Gaskell’s world for this special anniversary talk. \nBook here https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/events/at-home-with-elizabeth-gaskell/ URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/at-home-with-elizabeth-gaskell/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250910T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250910T210000 DTSTAMP:20250707T104539Z CREATED:20250707T102901Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250707T104539Z UID:7766-1757530800-1757538000@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Course - Feisty Females DESCRIPTION:Elizabeth Gaskell’s House presents a new online course. \nLiterature is full of impressive female characters and now you can enjoy four feisty females from your favourite novelists with a new online course from Elizabeth Gaskell’s House! So join Sherry Ashworth this autumn/winter for cosy nights in with other literature fans to take a fresh look at Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice\, Shirley from Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley\, Margaret from Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South and Esther from George Moore’s Esther Waters. \n\nWednesday 10 September – Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice\nThursday 9 October – Shirley from Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley\nWednesday 12 November – Margaret Hale from Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South\nWednesday 10 December – Esther from George Moore’s Esther Waters\n\nPrice (£13.50) is per session. Find out more here https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/feisty-females/ URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/online-course-feisty-females/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Discussion,literature,Online ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250526T000000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250630T235900 DTSTAMP:20250526T111404Z CREATED:20250526T111059Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250526T111404Z UID:7587-1748217600-1751327940@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING ACCESS - Trailblazer: the Life and Work of Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon DESCRIPTION:Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was one of the most intriguing of Victorian heroines: unconventional\, illegitimate\, yet at the centre of a luminous circle of influential Victorians\, including Elizabeth Gaskell\, George Eliot\, Florence Nightingale\, the Rossettis and Gertrude Jekyll. She was someone who opened many of the doors we walk through today with barely a backward glance: Barbara founded the first university college for women; the first women’s suffrage society\, and the campaign to allow women to keep their own property after marriage. Look in the engine-room of every aspect of social change in Victorian Britain\, and you’ll find Barbara. Loving and beloved\, Barbara was inspiring and remarkably modern: a role model for our times – and huge fun. \nJane Robinson is an acclaimed social historian\, focusing on women pioneers. She has written thirteen major books\, including Hearts and Minds\, looking at the hidden history of the fight for the vote; Bluestockings\, the story of the first women to access higher education in Britain\, and biographies of Mary Seacole and Josephine Butler. Jane is a Fellow of both the Royal Historical and Royal Geographical Societies\, a Hawthornden Fellow\, a writing mentor\, and a Senior Associate of Somerville College. \nWe’ll leave the talk online for you to view until 30 June 2025. Use the link below to book your place. Your ticket will contain the link and password you’ll need to view the talk. \n  URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/recording-barbara-leigh-smith-bodichon/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society - London & SE Branch":MAILTO:gaskellsocietylondonse@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20241130 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20241201 DTSTAMP:20241113T113209Z CREATED:20241011T144924Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241113T113209Z UID:6786-1732924800-1733011199@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING ACCESS - Elizabeth Gaskell\, Letters and an Accidental Abortion at St Bartholomew's Hospital DESCRIPTION:Available until 30 November 2024. \nHannah Palmer\, a PhD student at Loughborough University\, talks about her research into abortion and maternal histories in nineteenth-century literature and culture. Her thesis explores these issues in Gaskell’s letters and comments more generally on Gaskell’s role within her community. This is a recording of a talk Hannah gave to the London & SE branch of the Gaskell Society in September 2024. \nUse the link below to access an online recording of the talk. The recording will be able to view until 11.59pm on 30 November 2024. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/recording-elizabeth-gaskell-letters-and-an-accidental-abortion/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241127T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241127T200000 DTSTAMP:20241030T160858Z CREATED:20240606T111610Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241030T160858Z UID:6393-1732734000-1732737600@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Manchester in Victorian Literature DESCRIPTION:Manchester is the dramatic backdrop to literary classics\, such as Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South\, and lesser-known works\, such as Isabella Banks’s The Manchester Man. The city has been at the forefront of industrial change and political radicalism but what about literature? How have events from the Industrial Revolution to Peterloo inspired writers? How are the lives of the Manchester inhabitants reflected in industrial and social-problem novels? \nThis intriguing new talk offers a glimpse at Manchester’s role in Victorian literature and its portrayal on the page. Join researcher Michelle Ravenscroft to celebrate Lancashire Day with a special talk exploring the literary stories of Manchester. \n\n\n\nThis event is hosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/manchester-in-victorian-literature/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241030T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241030T200000 DTSTAMP:20240909T085655Z CREATED:20240606T111816Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240909T085655Z UID:6395-1730314800-1730318400@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online talk: Halloween – Brides of Dracula DESCRIPTION:A talk to mark the bi-centary year of Lord Byron. Step into the dark side to look at literary vampires\, starting with his unfinished novel The Burial: A Fragment. Byron’s supernatural story may have been the first in English to feature a vampire but it certainly was not the last and many that followed featured female vampires. \nDelve into Irish novelist Sheridan Le Fanu’s work Carmilla which predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula and introduces the iconic lesbian vampire. Then shudder as Mrs Rollerson secretly drinks the blood of her young companions in Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s novel Good Lady Ducayne. Hold back your fear as we explore Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula and consider the role of female vampires in contemporary literature. Finally\, we look at Elizabeth Gaskell’s love of the gothic – can her short piece Poor Clare be considered a Vampire story? \nWe’re stirring up trouble with our blood-curdling selection of familiar classics and new favourites. Explore these terrifying tales in our spellbinding Halloween talk by Dr Diane Duffy. Book now… if you’re feeling brave enough! \nThis event is hosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/halloween-brides-of-dracula/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241016T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241016T200000 DTSTAMP:20240909T085644Z CREATED:20240606T111439Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240909T085644Z UID:6391-1729105200-1729108800@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online talk: Unmarried Women: A Life of Freedom? DESCRIPTION:Elizabeth Gaskell’s last novel\, Wives and Daughters\, explored the position of women in 19th century society and the pressure on them to marry. Her book had much to say about marriage\, including storylines like Mrs Gibson’s marriage of necessity\, Cynthia’s secret engagement and Molly’s hoped-for love-match. Now we compare fiction with reality in this special dual talk on Unmarried Women. \nFirstly\, popular speaker Elizabeth Williams explores the life and options for unmarried women in Wives and Daughters and other Elizabeth Gaskell novels. How did the writer view marriage? Did she suggest other options to her readers? \nSecondly\, writer Charlotte Furness introduces four historical women who each challenged and defied the societal expectations of their times by making the conscious decision not to marry a man. She brings to light the life and times of Anne Lister of Shibden Hall\, Elizabeth Isham of Lamport Hall\, Anne Robinson of Saltram and Rosalie Chichester of Arlington Court. To what extent could these real women live the life they wanted? \nJoin us for an evening looking at unmarried women in fact and fiction. \nThis event is hosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House \nPS We know that Anne Lister was\, now rather famously\, actually married to another woman but we are looking at women who rejected social expectations of traditional marriage. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/unmarried-women-life-of-freedom/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241016T000000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241016T000000 DTSTAMP:20241002T094918Z CREATED:20241002T092207Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241002T094918Z UID:6748-1729036800-1729036800@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING - Edmund Potter: MP\, FRS\, Calico Printer and Philanthropist DESCRIPTION:Edmund Potter is probably most famous for being the grandfather of the author\, Beatrix Potter\, but he had an illustrious career of his own. Edmund was a Calico Printer who owned a calico print works at Dinting Vale\, near Glossop\, Derbyshire\, that was once the largest calico printing factory in the world. \nKate Raine will share her research in a brief survey of Edmund’s life. The talk will look at his role in the great institutions\, society and politics in Manchester and the Dinting Vale Print Works. \nEdmund was  a lifelong friend of William Gaskell and the talk will look at the connections between the two families. \nKate Raine is an Archivist and a Director of Glossop Heritage Trust. She started researching the life of Edmund Potter and the Dinting Vale Print Works\, as part of her work for the Trust. \nUse the link below to access an online recording of the talk. Sales are open until 15 October and the recording will be able to view until 11.59pm on 21 October 2024. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/recording-edmund-potter/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241015T235500 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241015T235500 DTSTAMP:20241002T093644Z CREATED:20241002T092653Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241002T093644Z UID:6753-1729036500-1729036500@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:RECORDING - Moss and Mosses in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Worlds DESCRIPTION:RECORDING: Moss and Mosses in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Worlds\nThis year’s Joan Leach Memorial Lecture was given by Dr Ingrid Hanson. You can now watch a recording of the talk for a limited time. \n \nIn 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: \n\n‘Eh\, lasses! ye don’t know what rocks are in Manchester! Gray pieces o’ stone as large as a house\, all covered over wi’ moss of different colours\, some yellow\, some brown’. \n\nThe poetic extract from Ebenezer Elliott that prefaces Chapter Five further suggests the variety of both kind and quality in mosses: \n‘Nor wild-flower decked the rock\, nor moss the well\,\nBut he its name and qualities could tell.’ \nChat Moss\, Moss Brow\, moss to keep a bouquet of flowers fresh\, moss as decoration\, moss marking graves: all these and more appear in Gaskell’s work\, even as water-retaining moss bogs were being drained for building or farming in Manchester\, and working-class botanists like Job Legh were finding\, naming and discussing their local mosses. \nJust a little later\, from the 1860s onwards\, Manchester Museum began to receive and catalogue mosses from across the country and the world\, as part of its extensive herbarium. In this talk Ingrid Hanson discusses the role of mosses – of which there are around 1\,000 varieties (some yellow\, some brown\, some green\, some red) in Britain today – in Gaskell’s Manchester and Gaskell’s work\, tracing out some of the histories of the mossy names\, places and characteristics that would have been familiar to Gaskell and her characters and that are so vital to our climate-changed world today. \nDr Ingrid Hanson is a lecturer in English literature at the University of Manchester\, author of William Morris and the Uses of Violence (2014) and editor of William Morris: Selected Works (OUP 2024). She has published work on literature of violence\, peace (including in relation to Gaskell)\, mourning\, masculinities\, socialism and utopia\, and is currently working on a book about peace and protest as well as an interdisciplinary\, collaborative project on the politics\, aesthetics and histories of urban moss. She has a passion for moss and lichen and has recently discovered the joys of a hand lens. \nPicture: Bob Blaylock\, CC BY-SA 4.0 \, via Wikimedia Commons \nA recording of this talk is now available. Use the link below to book your place. Sales close on 15 October 2024 and you can access the talk until 11.59pm on 21 October 2024.   URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/recording-moss-and-mosses-in-elizabeth-gaskells-worlds/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="The Gaskell Society":MAILTO:gaskellsociety@gmail.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241002T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241002T201500 DTSTAMP:20240606T111227Z CREATED:20240606T111227Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240606T111227Z UID:6389-1727895600-1727900100@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot – Wives and Daughters V Middlemarch DESCRIPTION:Two giants of Victorian literature\, Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot were very different in almost every way. George Eliot was private and intellectual while Elizabeth was outgoing\, gossipy and deeply shocked by the scandal of her fellow writer’s personal life. So how did these differences affect their work? How did they approach similar themes such as provincial life\, women’s education\, humorous characters and the inner life? \n\n\nWhat are the similarities (and differences) in novels such as Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters and George Eliot’s Middlemarch? And what did each author really think of the other? \n\n\nJoin Dr Diane Duffy and Professor Ruth Livesey for a closer look at two unique writers and their literary masterpieces. \nThis event is hosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House  as part of their Wives and Daughters season and in partnership with The George Eliot Fellowship. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/elizabeth-gaskell-george-eliot/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240918T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240918T200000 DTSTAMP:20240909T093940Z CREATED:20240606T110926Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240909T093940Z UID:6387-1726686000-1726689600@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Talk: Wives and Daughters vs Mansfield Park – The Domestic Novel DESCRIPTION: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 focused on the life of girls from the gentry\, or middle-classes\, and the minutiae of their daily lives. \n\n\nAusten’s classic novel Mansfield Park tells the story of Fanny Price who lives on the edge of family life with her richer relatives\, trying to navigate love and loneliness. Elizabeth Gaskell’s last novel Wives and Daughtersshows the coming of age of heroine Molly Gibson in a small English country town. \n\n\nBoth girls are central characters\, observant of the people around them and recognised by others for their goodness. But reading between the lines\, what hints does each author give us about domestic life? What do they have to say about women’s lives? And do they support or challenge the status quo? \nThis event is hosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House  in partnership with Jane Austen’s House. Part of Wives and Daughters season and to celebrate the 210th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/wives-and-daughters-v-mansfield-park/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240904T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240904T200000 DTSTAMP:20240606T110606Z CREATED:20240606T110606Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240606T110606Z UID:6385-1725476400-1725480000@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Charles Darwin – Literary Science in Wives and Daughters DESCRIPTION: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 had it re-read to him on his deathbed. Discover how Elizabeth’s knowledge of the public debates around science influenced her story-telling in her last literary masterpiece. With speaker Gordon Chancellor. \n“If I had my life to live over again\, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.” Charles Darwin \nThis event is hosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/charles-darwin-literary-science/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240710T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240710T200000 DTSTAMP:20240606T105602Z CREATED:20240606T105602Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240606T105602Z UID:6379-1720638000-1720641600@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:As Seen on Screen - Costume in TV Adaptations DESCRIPTION: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.\nThe talk will include a discussion about the costumes worn in the 1999 BBC adaptation of Wives and Daughters and other notable on screen dramas such as BBC’s Gentleman Jack\, Pride and Prejudice and Poldark. \nHosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House.  All ticket income goes to support the House. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/as-seen-on-screen-costume-in-tv-adaptations/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240626T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240626T203000 DTSTAMP:20240606T105941Z CREATED:20240606T105941Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240606T105941Z UID:6381-1719428400-1719433800@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Villette V Ruth: Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell DESCRIPTION: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? \nBrontë’s semi-autobiographical book Villette tells the story of Lucy Snowe as she flees England for a Belgian boarding school. Her tale of heartache and adversity contrasts with that of Ruth\, a novel about an unmarried mother written by Charlotte’s friend Elizabeth Gaskell. Ruth shocked contemporary readers and exposed the hypocrisy of Victorian sexual double-standards. It has been recognised as the first novel to make a ‘fallen woman’ the heroine and caused huge controversy for its author. This special partnership event explores the historical reality behind these two iconic women writers and the sexual status of women in Victorian life. \nEnjoy an online evening with like-minded people and join us as we delve into the original novels. There’s even the opportunity to see a first edition of both Villette and Ruth live from the Portico Library in Manchester. \nThis event will include three speakers and Q&A session: \n\nAndrew Stodolny (Learning Officer at Brontë Parsonage Museum)\nDr Emma Liggins (Co-Director of Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University)\nDr Debbie Challis (Creative Producer at The Portico).\n\nA partnership event with Elizabeth Gaskell’s House\, the Brontë Parsonage Museum\, The Portico and Manchester Metropolitan University. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/villette-v-ruth/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240612T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240612T200000 DTSTAMP:20240606T110421Z CREATED:20240606T110421Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240606T110421Z UID:6383-1718218800-1718222400@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Cynthia V Molly: ‘Love me as I am\, sweet one\, for I shall never be better.’ DESCRIPTION: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 Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. \nElizabeth Gaskell’s final novel is a masterpiece of character observation. She shows the two women in their full complexity\, using humour and poignancy. \nNow Sherry Ashworth compares and contrasts these two unique characters written by Elizabeth at the height of her literary powers. Join like-minded literary fans as we find out more about two central characters from Wives and Daughters. \nThis event is hosted by our good friends at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/cynthia-v-molly/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20231213T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20231213T200000 DTSTAMP:20230526T105604Z CREATED:20230526T105415Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230526T105604Z UID:4579-1702494000-1702497600@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Talk: Victorian Christmas in Elizabeth Gaskell's Manchester DESCRIPTION: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 revival of old customs. Even the Mechanics Institution sponsored a series of pageants involving wassail bowls and boars’ heads. And if Christmas was a time to remember the poor\, that certainly hit home in the city. \nSo get your mince pies ready\, pull up your favourite chair\, and join us online for a cosy Christmassy evening with the Gaskell Society’s Anthony Burton. \nThe talk will be approx 45 mins long\, with time for a short question session afterwards. URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/victorian-christmas/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Christmas,history,Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20231129T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20231129T200000 DTSTAMP:20230526T105628Z CREATED:20230526T105210Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230526T105628Z UID:4577-1701284400-1701288000@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Event: North and South – The Preston Lockouts Anniversary DESCRIPTION:2023 marks the 170th anniversary of the Preston Lockouts – the historical strikes that informed the plot and themes of Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic romantic novel North and South and provided inspiration for Charles Dickens in Hard Times. When workers demanded a 10% wage increase in Preston in 1853\, the factory owners simply locked the gates and left 18\,000 people out of work. So\, what really happened during the lock outs? Are characters like Mr Thornton and Higgins based on real people? And what was the impact of these events\, both for the strikers themselves and for wider Victorian industrial relations? Popular speaker Prof Michael Sanders from Manchester University explores the reality behind the strikes which inspired these groundbreaking ‘condition of England’ novels. \nThe talk will be approx 45 mins long\, with time for a short question session afterwards URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/preston-lockouts-anniversary/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:history,Online,talk ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20231109T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20231109T200000 DTSTAMP:20230526T104409Z CREATED:20230526T104100Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230526T104409Z UID:4575-1699556400-1699560000@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Tour of Elizabeth Gaskell's House DESCRIPTION:Using 360-degree photography\, expert guides will bring Manchester’s literary heritage to life via an online tour of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. \nFrom the Morning Room and Study\, to the Drawing and Dining Rooms\, you’ll learn about Elizabeth’s family life; how William\, her husband\, supported her\, and how her life in Manchester influenced the books she wrote which made her famous throughout the world. \nFind out about the people who visited the House\, including the notoriously shy Charlotte Brontë\, and the tumultuous relationship Elizabeth had with her publisher Charles Dickens. Your tour will also include stories about how the House was restored and why certain furnishing and decor was chosen. \nThis tour is a must for literary fans! URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/online-tour/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Online,tour ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20231101T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20231101T200000 DTSTAMP:20230526T103803Z CREATED:20230526T103803Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230526T103803Z UID:4573-1698865200-1698868800@gaskellsociety.co.uk SUMMARY:Online Event: Shirley - Charlotte Brontë and the Industrial Novel DESCRIPTION:Charlotte Brontë is a giant of Victorian literature and the much-loved author of the classic Jane Eyre but what of her lesser-read second novel\, Shirley\, written in the grief and sadness of family loss? Brontë’s Shirley was set amongst the tumultuous times of the Napoleonic Wars and Luddite machine breakers. Her strong female characters and industrial strife show the author had plenty to say about contemporary class and sexual politics\, much like her friend Elizabeth Gaskell in her first novel\, Mary Barton. This special partnership event explores the historical reality behind Charlotte’s writing including her beloved Yorkshire moors\, famous sisters and the status of women in Victorian life. Join us as we delve into the original novel including the chance to see a first edition of both Shirley and Mary Barton live from the Portico. \nThis event will include three speakers and ​Q&A session. \nSpeakers include Andrew Stodolny (Learning Officer at Brontë Parsonage Museum)\, Dr Emma Liggins (Reader in English Literature and Co-Director of the Long Nineteenth-Century Network at Manchester Metropolitan University) and Dr Debbie Challis (Events Producer at The Portico). \nA partnership event with Elizabeth Gaskell’s House\, the Brontë Parsonage Museum\, The Portico and Manchester Metropolitan University\nPart of the Mary Barton season of events at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House URL:https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/shirley/ LOCATION:online CATEGORIES:Discussion,Online,women ORGANIZER;CN="Elizabeth Gaskell's House":MAILTO:enquiries@elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR