Showing results by author "Elizabeth Gaskell" in All Categories

Elizabeth Gaskells enchanting tales of Cranford are often linked to her childhood in Knutsford, a quaint town in Cheshire, where she spent time in her youth. This connection is emphasized in her 1849 essay, The Last Generation in England, where she fondly recalls the town in which I once resided. It’s clear that Knutsford served as the inspiration for Cranford. In 1851, while crafting Cranford, Gaskell also penned a novella titled Mr. Harrisons Confessions, which explores the life of a country doctor in a small provincial town—likely modeled after Knutsford, a place she cherished. ...

A glorious collection of some of the finest British short stories ever written. The Dog – Arnold Bennet, Not On The Passenger List – Barry Pain, The Old Man’s Tale About The Queer Client – Charles Dickens, The Half Brothers – Elizabeth Gaskell, The Veiled Portrait – James McGovan, Markheim – Robert Louis Stevenson, The Bottle Imp – Robert Louis Stevenson, The Adventures Of The Kind Mr. Smith – William J. Locke, The Man Of Mystery – Barry Pain, The Brazilian Cat – Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle.

In this original collection from Skyboat Media and Blackstone Publishing, Elizabeth Gaskell showcases the height of gothic fiction's ability to delight in the otherworldly and to dig deep into what truly haunts us. Set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials, "Lois the Witch" reveals much about the complicity of mankind. Recently orphaned, Lois is forced to leave the English parsonage that had been her home and sail to America.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s Lizzie Leigh is the sad tragedy of a young girl, who, while being away from home for work in Manchester, commits the sin of adultery and becomes pregnant with an illegitimate child. She decides not to return home for fear of her harsh father’s reaction. Not knowing whether her daughter is still alive, her mother decides to take her two sons and go to Manchester to look for her. The narrative then follows Lizzie’s poignant existence, as she tries to purge her soul from sin.

When a crisis of faith prompts his departure from the Church of England, Margaret Hale’s father moves his family north to bleak, industrial Milton. At first, Margaret is put off by the town’s grit and poverty - a stark contrast to her rural southern hometown. But when she is awakened to the suffering of Milton’s hardworking citizens, she makes it her mission to improve their lives. However, Margaret soon finds herself at odds with the man she is falling in love with - the handsome, bullheaded industrialist John Thornton.

When Margaret Hale is forced to leave her home in the tranquil rural South of England for the industrial Northern town of Milton, she finds herself in a very different country run by men, like mill owner John Thornton, with very different beliefs to her own. Margaret is sickened by the working conditions she witnesses and, sympathetic to the poor workers, clashes with their boss, Thornton.

The tale of a rural habitation in the late 19th Century and the effect of industrialisation on the local community.Seventeen year old Phillis lives on Hope Farm with her parents Minister Ebenezer Holman and his simple wife. Her second cousin Paul Manning, at first reluctantly, comes to visit. He is the son of a rising inventor from Birmingham and is employed as a clerk to Edward Holdsworth, the managing engineer of a railway company laying a line close to the farm.

"Explore the poignant and powerful world of 'Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life' by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. Set against the backdrop of the bustling city of Manchester during the industrial revolution, this novel takes you on a compelling journey through the lives of the working class in the 19th century. Gaskell's writing is a vivid window into the struggles and triumphs of the ordinary people during a time of social and economic upheaval.

Great Horror Stories is a vintage collection of some of the finest ghost tales, horror stories, and supernatural legends ever written, by the best writers the genre has to offer.

Wives and Daughters follows the daily life of a widowed county doctor, Mr. Gibson, and his daughter, Molly. During our time with the Gibsons, Mr. Gibson decides to marry a woman who has a daughter near Molly's age, Cynthia. Molly and Cynthia grow up together, fall in love, and spend their days with the many characters in Hollingford.

In a small town called Cranford, everyone knows everyone’s business. As families and individuals live their lives in the small Victorian town, they are challenged to change and adapt to new social customs instead of ascribing to out-of-date customs and ideals. This novel is presented in vignettes and short sketches that show the humorous bits of living in Cranford, rather than having a particular plot.

In this series we explore the many facets of love through literary talents that span both time and country. By a choice of vows each undertakes to stay with the other through the good times and the bad. And most probably there will be plenty of both and much in between. But the union of marriage comes in many shades and hues, some balanced, some destined to last a lifetime and others set to fizzle out or stumble to an ill-mannered conclusion in separation or divorce and, of course, death.

Moorland Cottage is a touching Victorian novel about Maggie Brown, a self-sacrificing woman torn between duty to her selfish brother and her own desires for love and independence. With elements of romance, family drama, and societal expectations, Gaskell delivers a poignant story of resilience and self-worth.

The Essential Classics: Volume 7 brings together 5 of the greatest classics ever written, perfectly read by an esteemed cast including Jonathan Keeble, Kristin Atherton, Emma Gregory, and Matt Bates. From the charming and compassionate world of Cranford to the ambitious and tragic tale of Jude the Obscure, this volume is a rich tapestry of human experience. Daniel Deronda challenges notions of identity, morality, and destiny, while Evelina offers a sharp yet humorous commentary on social class and manners.

Almost always when we think of Ghost Stories, we first think of those written by the Victorians. If you want a really good ghost story to bring that edge of chill, that foreboding of dread, that feeling that in an empty house we are not quite alone and that sometimes the sharp, sheer shock of what just happened is upon us then look no further than ‘The Victorian Ghost Story’ for your reading and listening pleasure.

Love has many forms, many needs. Some fall into the dark, into the shadows. Forbidden love has connotations of desire, of possession but also of matters far more unsavoury. It’s a delicate facet of love that our classic authors explain with careful words and superbly crafted narratives.

Presenting an audio anthology of Victorian ghost stories to chill you to the bone this holiday season.

With the talents on display the most difficult task is choosing only ten. Their virtuosity, their craft and ambition scare belie the difficulties that society places upon most women. Their words cannot be denied, their literary heritage is safe forever.

Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.

Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel, is regarded by many as her masterpiece. Molly Gibson is the daughter of the doctor in the small provincial town of Hollingford. Her widowed father marries a second time to give Molly the woman's presence he feels she lacks, but until the arrival of Cynthia, her dazzling stepsister, Molly finds her situation hard to accept. Intertwined with the story of the Gibsons is that of Squire Hamley and his two sons.