Elizabeth Gaskell
1) Ruth
Although Ruth Hilton is kind, life does not treat her kindly in return. An orphaned young seamstress, she works long hours at a sweatshop in a small English town. When she is sent to a fancy ball to repair the ladies’ dresses, she catches the eye of a gentleman, Henry Bellingham.
Falling for Henry...
After a decade spent living with her aunt in London, nineteen-year-old Margaret Hale returns home to her beloved village of Helstone only to discover that her pastor father has had a crisis of faith and is moving the family to the North of England. In the industrial town of Milton, Margaret is horrified by...
Looking for an engaging and emotionally resonant read from a novelist who was inspired by the works of both Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte? Elizabeth Gaskell's 1850 short novel The Moorland Cottage offers up a unflinching slice of nineteenth-century family life, with a particular focus on family dynamics in an era where sons were openly favored.
This beloved novella from author Elizabeth Gaskell offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of women in the nineteenth century, particularly those who were widowed or unmarried. The lack of legal rights afforded to these women may come as a shock to contemporary readers, but Gaskell addresses the unique challenges they faced—and often triumphed over—with grace and keen insight.
Though she began her literary career as a social realist working in the vein of her mentor Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell took a mid-career turn into the realm of supernatural writing. Curious, If True brings together a collection of Gaskell's most spine-chilling Victorian tales of horror and suspense. It's a must-read for fans of gothic mysteries.
In this masterfully suspenseful short story from Victorian-era author Elizabeth Gaskell, the strained relationship between two half-brothers — one beloved and one largely shunned by the family—comes to a head suddenly when the younger of the two finds himself in terrible danger.
A writer of remarkably diverse talents, Elizabeth Gaskell produced fiction and non-fiction ranging from short stories that offered detailed cross-sections of Victorian life and society to a well-regarded biography of author Charlotte Bronte. The novel A Dark Night's Work is the engrossing apogee of Gaskell's foray into Gothic ghost stories and tales of horror. Fans of these genres won't be disappointed.
Later in her career, Victorian-era novelist Elizabeth Gaskell turned away from the domestic dramas that dominated her previous work and began to experiment with gothic horror, honing her craft over a period of years. This short novella focuses on the trials and tribulations of a supposedly cursed family and offers up a number of keen observations about the psychological impact of laboring under such a fate.
10) Sylvia's Lovers
This tragic tale from Elizabeth Gaskell follows the wartime love affairs of the title character. After her true love is believed to have perished at sea, Sylvia seeks stability in a loveless arranged marriage. But does her husband know more about her first lover's fate than he is admitting?
Can't get enough of nineteenth-century British romance? Lovers of books like Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights should give Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters a try. This tale follows the romantic ups and downs of Molly Gibson, a doctor's daughter who lives in a small English village and is trying desperately to find the right husband.
12) Mary Barton
The first novel by English writer Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton was published in 1848. It tells of the plight of the lower class in Manchester during the 1830s and 1840s. Contrasting the gap between rich and poor, the first half of the novel tells of the humble lives of the Barton and Wilson families, the extreme poverty of the Davenports and the luxurious life of the Carsons. Symbolically, John Barton receives five shillings for selling
...13) An Accursed Race
Though she gained acclaim as a novelist whom many critics and fans likened to another Victorian literary luminary, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell was also deeply interested in social causes, about which she often penned compelling nonfiction pieces. This essay paints a heart-rending portrait of the plight of the Cagots, a European clan who suffered severe persecution for hundreds of years.
14) Cranford
The novel Cranford grew out of a short story (now the first two chapters) and it reads like a series of episodes in the fictional town of Cranford. The central characters are Mary Smith and her friends, the spinster sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah. It is a quaint, comedic ode to small town life, and remains Gaskell's most famous work.
15) The Poor Clare
As a writer, Elizabeth Gaskell often sought to cast light on the stark differences between social classes in the Victorian era. But in the remarkable novella "The Poor Clare," she takes issues of class, socioeconomic status, and religious differences out of the drawing room and embeds them in a spine-tingling tale of gothic suspense.
Nineteenth-century novelist Elizabeth Gaskell was inspired to start writing in part through her friendship with Charlotte Bronte. Later, Gaskell took on the project of composing the first serious, full-length biography of Bronte, a work that scholars agree did much to fan the flames of Bronte's then-burgeoning reputation. The Life of Charlotte Bronte is a fascinating read for fans who want to learn more about the Jane Eyre author's
...17) Lizzie Leigh
The trope of the "fallen woman" has been a constant presence in world literature for centuries. Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell breathes new life into that tired archetype in the engaging short story "Lizzie Leigh," in which love ultimately triumphs even in the face of the most formidable odds.
Prominent Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell introduced a new level of realism into her depictions of the daily duties, struggles and tribulations of people at every point on the socioeconomic spectrum. This collection brings together some of her most acclaimed stories, including domestic dramas and a few with creepy supernatural and gothic elements.
Popular nineteenth-century writer Elizabeth Gaskell packed her fiction with the kind of riveting social details that keep contemporary readers and fans of historical drama glued to the page. This collection of short stories offers a comprehensive introduction to her body of work, which rivaled Dickens' in terms of popularity at the height of her career.
As the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, attitudes about love, marriage, and gender roles began to undergo a radical shift. The five stories collected in this volume, written by literary luminaries such as Henry James, Walter Besant, and Thomas Hardy, expertly capture this period of transition.