People

It’s 1851 – Cranford year for Gaskell fans!

On 13 December 1851, Our Society at Cranford is published in Charles Dickens magazine Household Words. The story begins the series which will later be collected as Cranford. Find out more in our new exhibition! The Gaskell family has been living at

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My life with Lily – Mrs Gaskell, Cheshire, Manchester and me

I was born in Sale, which was then in Cheshire and is now in Greater Manchester. My socially aspirant family would get annoyed with me when, for convenience's sake, I would introduce myself to strangers as being from Manchester: ' no dear,

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Painting showing Female mill workers in Wigan in 1870s.

The Time Line Series – the year is 1848!

On 18 October, Mary Barton is published in two volumes to critical acclaim. Gaskell receives £100 for the copyright, which is worth around £12,000 today, though she does receive an additional £100 on the publication of the second edition of the book.

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Tracking down Mr Aide

On March 28 1862. Elizabeth Gaskell writes a letter to George Smith, her publisher: 'It seems to me that you must have been thinking me very ungrateful inasmuch as all this time I have never thanked you for Mr Aide's book. But

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The Manchester Woman – Mrs G Linnaeus Banks

Before I was sidetracked by Richmal Crompton, I had wanted to feature the writer of The Manchester Man in our occasional series about other women writers of Manchester. So to celebrate the 200th anniversary of her birth on 25 March 1821, let's

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