Elizabeth Gaskell: A Connected Life

Elizabeth Gaskell’s inkstand, letters and miniature

Elizabeth Gaskell: A Connected Life

Christie Gallery

15 July to 28 November 2010Elizabeth Gaskell was a prolific correspondent and stood at the centre of a wide and varied social network. Her personal connections extended to people from many different walks of life – from some of the most famous figures of the day to the poorest factory workers in her home town of Manchester.

This exhibition, which marks the bicentenary of her birth, draws on the Library’s world-class Gaskell

collections to explore her place in these diverse communities. It looks at how Gaskell’s social

networks influenced her fiction and the worlds she depicted in her books. It also considers the

worldwide community of readers past and present who have found enjoyment in Gaskell’s work.

Some items from the Library’s collections will be on public display for the first time, including letters
from Elizabeth Gaskell to her friends and family.

Other highlights include extracts from Gaskell’s autograph collection, her passport and a family

portrait kindly loaned by descendants of the Gaskell family.