Autumn Events from Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
We’re enjoying the last of the summer with days out and the odd bit of sunshine, but you don’t need to look too closely to spot the signs that autumn is on its way. The blackberries are ripe for picking, dusk is arriving a little bit earlier and soon it’ll be time to celebrate a new season of online events from Elizabeth Gaskell’s House.
Swap long summer nights for cosy evenings indoors with a cuppa and share your love of literature with like-minded people across the globe. Take a walk on the wild side with events on Bad Women (20 September) and the Female Gothic (25 October) or enjoy a look at wholesome heroines from Margaret Hale (6 September) to Mary Barton.
Our passion for North and South, both the novel and TV Series, endures as we kick the season off looking at Margaret Hale with Caroline Malcolm Boulton in September. There’s more about the classic story in November too. Prof Michael Sanders marks the 170th anniversary of the Preston Lock Outs – the historic strikes that inspired both Elizabeth Gaskell’s story and Hard Times by Charles Dickens.
The Mary Barton season restarts in September, looking at all aspects of Elizabeth Gaskell’s debut novel. There’s everything from revolution to prostitution as Prof Sanders looks at Chartism and Dr Ingrid Hanson investigates the reality behind the classic poem The Song of the Shirt.
Then we’re back with the Brontë Parsonage Museum to explore the links between Mary Barton and Charlotte Bronte’s second novel Shirley. The latter 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.
The events programme is a box of delights! There are online tours of the house, book groups and our in-person monthly second-hand book sale – recommended as the best in Manchester. You can delve into seasonal talks from Halloween to Victorian Christmas – all from the comfort of your own home.
So why not take a look at this season’s events?
What will you pick?
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