Blogs & News

: Performative Talk: Songs of Work in Manchester and Bangladesh

In the neighbourhood of Oldham there are weavers, common hand-loom weavers, who throw the shuttle with unceasing sound Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton There are surprising links between the Lancashire weavers of Elizabeth Gaskell's time, and those of modern Bangladeshi garment workers.  Join Jennifer Reid as she examines Bangladeshi work song and its links to Manchester weaving songs, through an exciting performative talk which will include singing and field recordings. Jennifer is a performer of nineteenth-century broadside ballads and Lancashire dialect

: Elizabeth Gaskell’s Birthday Talk: Elizabeth Gaskell and Gossip

Now to gossip, which of course is a woman's pleasure Extract: letter from Elizabeth Gaskell to George Smith We're celebrating Elizabeth Gaskell's birthday with a glass of wine and a good gossip! The Gaskell Society's Elizabeth Williams will discuss Elizabeth Gaskell's sharp eye and sharper tongue in this fascinating talk on Gaskell and gossip. Is gossip just malicious tittle-tattle, or could it be a compelling kind of story-telling? Find out more, as we delve into Elizabeth Gaskell's writings

: Talk: Peterloo 1819 – 2019

What are the Gaskell connections with Peterloo? Join us to find out, in this fascinating afternoon talk on Peterloo with historian Robert Poole, author of new book Peterloo: the English Uprising (Open University Press), and co-creator of Peterloo, a graphic novel drawn entirely from eyewitness accounts of the time. Robert's talk will mark the bicentenary, in August, of this major episode in the history of Manchester and of British democracy. Come along to meet the author and expert on Peterloo, and to find out more. Robert's

: Talk: The Silk Dress & Elizabeth Gaskell’s Writing

The silk dress was a Nineteenth-century symbol of respectability, luxury and seduction. Join Margo Singer as she showcases some authentic Victorian silk dresses and accessories, and discusses the dress's appearances in novels including Cranford, North and South and Ruth - as well as in Elizabeth Gaskell's own letters. See some real Victorian silk dresses, find out why many Victorian women aspired to own one, and learn about its importance as a motif in Elizabeth Gaskell's writing.     Free with usual

: Discussion – Elizabeth Gaskell’s Short Fiction: ‘A Dark Night’s Work’

'One little hour ago I was innocent of this man's blood!' Passion! Death! A buried body! And a dispute over the text with Charles Dickens! Join Dr Diane Duffy for a lively discussion about one of Elizabeth Gaskell's shorter works of fiction, A Dark Night's Work. (This follows a previous discussion on 12 May) Is this story, published by Dickens in 1863, a love story or crime fiction? Come along and give your opinion, or find out more about this