Elizabeth Gaskell’s House Book Group Online
The friendly Book Group at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House focuses mainly on reading classic works of fiction from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Our intention is to provide a varied and stimulating set of novels, all of which are well worth reading – or re-reading – and which cater for a range of diverse tastes. We have a number of regular members who have taken part in our discussions over several years but we also warmly welcome newcomers.
In 2025 the core of the programme consists of six classic novels all published within a period of just over twenty years in the middle of the nineteenth century (1846 to 1868). Two of them revolve around the intricacies of social and family life in Paris and are written by the leading contemporary exponents of French realistic fiction: Balzac and Zola. The other four from this period include works by Trollope, Thackeray and Charlotte Bronte (her immortal Jane Eyre), and the now rather less celebrated Dinah Craik, of whom it is said she “was initially regarded as the literary equal of Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot.” Two other English writers who are noted for setting their narratives in vividly depicted regions of England are Thomas Hardy (Dorset, around the fictional town of Casterbridge, in reality the actual town of Dorchester); and Arnold Bennett (his fictional ‘five towns’ are actually based on the English Potteries).
The other three novels which complete the 2025 reading list are of more diverse origin and more disparate publication dates. The novel by Stefan Zweig which will start the year off was not published in English until 2009, but was completed several decades earlier. Zweig was a Jewish writer from Austria who was forced to flee his homeland with the rise to power of Hitler; the manuscript of The Post Office Girl was found among his papers after his death in 1942. Sybille Bedford’s 1956 novel A Legacy, which concludes our reading in 2025, was derived from her childhood experiences of being brought up mostly in Germany before the first world war. Finally, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea was published in 1966 but it was conceived at least partly as a direct fictional response to Jane Eyre, intending to throw a very different light on some aspects of the beloved classic. (While Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea are independent narratives worth reading in their own right, we have placed them in consecutive months in order to facilitate comparisons across both novels so you might like to book for both of them at the same time.)
Book Group activities are co-ordinated by Mike Chidley, a volunteer at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, and the monthly meetings are all chaired by volunteers who are regular members of the group. We meet on Zoom (limited to 20 people) in order to facilitate the participation of members from all over the UK and beyond. Our meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month from 1.00 pm to 2.15 pm, apart from in August (on holiday) and December (second Thursday).
**You will be sent the log in details on your e-ticket. Please check your spam folder for link email**
£4.50 per session.
Booking will close 1 hour before the group meets.
2024 Reading List
December 12 Eugenie Grandet Honoré de Balzac (1833) Book now via this link
2025 Reading List
- January 16 The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig (2009, posthumous) Book via this link
- February 20 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847) Book via this link
- March 20 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966) Book via this link
- April 17 John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik (1856) Book via this link
- May 15 Thérèse Raquin by Emile Zola (1868) Book via this link
- June 19 Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope (1857) Book via this link
- July 17 Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett (1910) Book via this link
- August Holiday break
- September 18 Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac (1846) Book via this link
- October 16 The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (1886) Book via this link
- November 20 The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray (1852) Book via this link
- December 11 A Legacy by Sybille Bedford (1956) Book via this link
You can also support the House by buying books and gifts from our online shop via this link.
Gift £10 to Celebrate 10 years.
Keeping Elizabeth Gaskell’s House open to the public remains a real financial challenge. Our incredible team needs your help and support to continue the story long into the future. During our anniversary year we are asking our supporters to give £10 to support the House during our anniversary year and to help us raise £10,000. You can make a donation via JustGiving.
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is run by Manchester Historic Buildings Trust (charity no. 1080606) and all money gained through private tours, talks, room hire and ticket sales goes towards the ongoing maintenance and running costs of the House. If you would like to support the House with an additional donation you can do so via this link.
Third Thursday of the month
20th February
20th March
17th April
15th May
19th June
17th July
18th September
16th October
20th November
11th December
1pm - 2.15pm
Workshops