Description

In Victorian England the celebration of Christmas surged. Following Dickens, many authors produced heart-warming stories for the season. Elizabeth Gaskell wrote seven of these, but was not comfortable doing so, for “I could not write about virtues to order”.  However, like everyone else, she participated in the merriment that went on, even in a grim industrial city like Manchester. This illustrated booklet gathers together everything we have found out about her experience of Christmas observances: carols, turkeys, Christmas trees, and family parties.

The authors are members of the Committee of the Gaskell Society, and active as volunteers at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. Diane Duffy taught English literature in various schools, and along the way augmented her first degree with an MA and a PhD from Manchester University, focusing on Victorian women writers. Anthony 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.

We also have a print version of this book, available here (UK shipping only, sorry)