In Mrs Gaskell & Me, author and scholar Nell Stevens (Bleaker House) blends memoir and fiction to explore her life alongside that of Manchester’s own Elizabeth Gaskell. In 1857, following the controversial publication of The Life of Charlotte Brontë, Gaskell flees to Rome, where she meets Charles Norton, a lifelong friend and the love of her life. In 2013, Nell falls in love with Max, a man who lives in Paris and then Boston. As they attempt to