Blogs & News

: Online Talk: Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë – Fame and Fortune

Literary success brought great acclaim to authors Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë. Their debut novels, Mary Barton and Jane Eyre, brought them huge public attention. Both found themselves thrust into a new world of Victorian celebrity, alongside famous writers, artists and cultural figures such as John Ruskin and Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. So, how did these two gifted writers handle their new-found fame? Was Elizabeth Gaskell always keen for company? How did Charlotte Brontë’s

: Online Talk: Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë – A Friendship

This introductory talk explores the relationship between two giants of nineteenth century literature. Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell were opposites in many ways. Yet they were profoundly interested in each other's work and lives. Their first meeting in the Lake District in 1850 led to a real friendship. Charlotte had written the instant classic Jane Eyre and then Shirley, while Elizabeth’s astounding debut novel Mary Barton had been well-received. Vice-Chair of the Gaskell Society Libby Tempest explores letters, writing

: Online Talk: The Life of Charlotte Brontë – An Introduction

The Life of Charlotte Brontë, written by Elizabeth Gaskell, told the story of a ‘wild, sad life and the beautiful character that grew out of it’. Yet it was not without controversy when it was first published in 1857. The first biography to be written both by and about a woman writer, it remains a classic of the genre. Join Susan Newby, Learning Officer at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, to discover how Elizabeth's The Life secured the legacy,

: 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,