Blogs & News

: Online Event: From the Dashwoods to Cranford – Sisterhood in the Worlds of Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell

Step into the elegant but precarious world of the Dashwood sisters in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. The rational Elinor and the impetuous Marianne share a sisterly bond that endures despite all outside challenges. Sisterhood was a key theme in many of Jane Austen’s best-loved novels from the close relationship of Lizzy and Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice to the difficult relationship between the Elliot sisters in Persuasion. So how does literature reflect reality and Jane’s own

: Online Reading Workshop – The Gothic – Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (Repeat)

Take a walk on the wild side with our new reading course looking at horror, mystery and the darker side of the human condition. We’re taking on some giants of the Gothic to explore literature’s supernatural forces, from the terrible monster of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to the wild and windy moors of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Many of your favourite women writers wrote Gothic novels so now is the time to dig a little deeper into the underbelly of nineteenth-century literature.

: February Half-Term Family Fun

Calling all budding writers and interior designers! Join us at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House this February half-term for some creative family fun. We have created two brand-new trails so all the family can explore the House by collecting colours and objects from the Victorian Morning Room to the Servant's Hall. With easy and hard levels, our trails are the perfect challenge for all ages. At the end of the trail, head down to the Servants' Hall to write a

: Online Event – International Women’s Day: Women of Words

Join our four literary houses in an evening to celebrate women writers who supported each other through female networks and creative collaboration as we mark International Women’s Day. Step into the worlds of novelists the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, Fredrika Bremer and their earlier predecessors for a vivid insight into the literary connections and networks that sustained women’s writing lives. Through letters we glimpse supportive mentorships, introductions between writers, friendly editorial advice, the sharing of new publications, and lively

: Online Reading Workshop – The Gothic – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Repeat)

Take a walk on the wild side with our new reading course looking at horror, mystery and the darker side of the human condition. We’re taking on some giants of the Gothic to explore literature’s supernatural forces, from the terrible monster of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to the wild and windy moors of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Many of your favourite women writers wrote Gothic novels so now is the time to dig a little deeper into the underbelly of nineteenth-century literature.