Blogs & News

: Online Talk: Manchester in Victorian Literature

Lancashire Day Manchester is the dramatic backdrop to literary classics, such as Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, and lesser-known works, such as Isabella Banks's The Manchester Man. The city has been at the forefront of industrial change and political radicalism but what about literature? How have events from the Industrial Revolution to Peterloo inspired writers? How are the lives of the Manchester inhabitants reflected in industrial and social-problem novels? This intriguing new talk offers a glimpse at Manchester's role in Victorian

: Online Talk: Cynthia V Molly: ‘Love me as I am, sweet one, for I shall never be better.’

Molly is the moral heart of classic novel Wives and Daughters but it is her flawed step-sister Cynthia who may appeal to readers more. The two girls are a study in comparisons. Molly is concerned with goodness while Cynthia’s relationship with her ghastly mother Mrs Gibson echoes that of Lizzy and Mrs Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Gaskell's final novel is a masterpiece of character observation. She shows the two women in their full complexity,

: Online Talk: Wives and Daughters – A TV Classic

The BBC TV adaptation of Wives and Daughters was hailed as the rediscovery of a ‘forgotten’ classic when it was broadcast in 1999. The series featured a wealth of stars including Francesca Annis, Keeley Hawes and a BAFTA-winning Michael Gambon. Andrew’s Davies’ screenplay peeled back the layers of Elizabeth Gaskell’s final novel. The TV series reflected both the book's comedy and the pathos of provincial life. The classic novel and TV adaptation vividly portrays life in the 1830s but

: Online Talk: Missing Mother – Motherless Girls in Literature

Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Shelley, the Brontë sisters and George Eliot were all relatively young when they lost their mothers. Moreover, all of them create female characters who are affected by the loss of a mother. But is this necessarily a bad thing in literature? What are the drawbacks and the freedoms of being motherless in Victorian fiction? Starting with Elizabeth Gaskell’s heroine Molly in Wives and Daughters, this insightful talk looks at the importance of missing mothers in

: Online Talk: Valentine’s Day – North and South

When better to celebrate North and South than Valentine's Day? The groundbreaking love story of mill owner John Thornton and complex heroine Margaret Hale has captured hearts all over the world. The original novel and the TV series, adapted by Sandy Welch, tell the story of Thornton and Margaret as they navigate their feelings against a backdrop of industrial strife and class tension. This Valentine's Day celebrate literary romance and enjoy a closer look at the on-the-page passion