Blogs & News

: Online Talk: Halloween – Victorian Ghost Stories

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. Dr Diane Duffy 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

: Online Event: International Women’s Day – Breaking Boundaries

Join our three literary houses in an evening to celebrate women writers who broke boundaries as we mark International Women’s Day. Step into the worlds of novelists Anne Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell, and their feminist predecessors Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Robinson. Celebrate how these four writers shook the world and broke the contemporary social constraints on women. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary Long remembered only for her relationship with the Prince of Wales, Mary Robinson has been reclaimed as one

: Online Talk: Valentine’s Day – Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell

‘Reader, I married him.’ Celebrate Valentine's Day with a closer look at classic romances from your favourite authors. Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell created some of the best-loved heroes ever to grace page or screen with Pride and Prejudice’s Mr Darcy, Jane Eyre’s Mr Rochester and, of course, North and South’s smouldering Mr Thornton. Now popular speaker Elizabeth Williams is back with a new talk celebrating how these very different writers tackled love and romance in

: Online Talk: At Home with Elizabeth Gaskell

’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 As part of the 10 year anniversary celebrations of the opening of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, we’re celebrating the home life of this incredible writer. Elizabeth 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

: Online Tour: Restoring Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

As part of the 10-year anniversary celebrations of the opening of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, you can experience Manchester’s literary heritage brought to life. Enjoy a special online tour by the 'House Detective' Frank Galvin MBE. Using 360-degree photography our expert guide reveals the true story of restoring Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. This unique tour will explore how the House was brought back from the brink by expert skills and exacting historic research. And all brought to you by one