Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present
Elizabeth Gaskell
-
Standard Name: Gaskell, Elizabeth
Birth Name: Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson
Nickname: Lily
Married Name: Elizabeth Gaskell
Indexed Name: Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Pseudonym: Cotton Mather Mills
Pseudonym: The Author of Mary Barton etc.
Self-constructed Name: E. C. Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
, one of the foremost fiction-writers of the mid-Victorian period, produced a corpus of seven novels, numerous short stories, and a controversial biography of Charlotte Brontë
. She wrote extensively for periodicals, as well as producing novels directly for the book market, often on issues of burning interest: her industrial novels appeared in the midst of fierce debate over class relations, factory conditions and legislation; Ruth took a fallen woman and mother as its protagonist just as middle-class feminist critique of gender roles emerged. Gaskell occupies a bridging position between Harriet Martineau
and George Eliot
in the development of the domestic novel.
Again Harold Hannyngton Child
approved this work, calling it the story of a great passion told with delicacy and power, a combination which is none too common.
Child, Harold H. “Barbara Rebell”. Times Literary Supplement, No. 197, p. 350.
MBL
made her views known to the public through the columns of the Times on a variety of political and literary issues: women's suffrage, food rationing during the first world war (on which she offered...
Intertextuality and Influence
Edna Lyall
A Hardy Norseman makes honorific reference to Elizabeth Gaskell
's Wives and Daughters. Though it is largely set in Norway (convincingly portrayed), a crucial meeting takes place at Hyde Park Corner in London...
Textual Production
Edna Lyall
The contributors to Women Novelists of Queen Victoria's Reign, 1897, included EL
, who wrote for it a piece on Elizabeth Gaskell
.
Payne, George A. "Edna Lyall:" an Appreciation. John Heywood.
17
Occupation
Constance Lytton
She undertook some teaching of the girls while she was there, but was not satisfied with her performance, which was hampered by shyness. On her one successful evening she dressed up as Debòrah Jenkyns in...
The stories here deal with all kinds of complexity and nuance in the sisterly relationship. The collection ends, as the introduction begins, with Christina Rossetti
's Goblin Market. The nineteenth century is further represented...
Textual Production
Olivia Manning
After her return to England she sometimes wrote for the BBC
(with which her husband was now a producer), providing scripts for the long-running serial Mrs. Dale's Diary, one number in the series A...
Family and Intimate relationships
Anne Marsh
Anne's brother-in-law from 1822 was the distinguished Sir Henry Holland
(physician to Princess Caroline, and later Prince Albert
and Queen Victoria
), a descendent of the Wedgwood family and cousin of Elizabeth Gaskell
...
Reception
Anne Marsh
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography notes AM
's very high contemporary reputation. It cites the London Weekly Chronicle and Margaret Oliphant
each hailing her, in her heyday, as a leader among women novelists (though...
Friends, Associates
Harriet Martineau
In 1838, HM
met the British diplomat David Urquhart
, who was known for his championship of Turkey against Russia. Although she recorded her dislike for his social egotism and misogynistic opinions, his hatred and...
Intertextuality and Influence
Harriet Martineau
The novel prompted a complimentary letter on 7 November 1849 from Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë
) saying that in it he tasted a new and keen pleasure, and experienced a genuine benefit. In his...
The novel established FMM
's reputation for precise use of prose,
“The Times Digital Archive 1785-2007”. Thompson Gale: The Times Digital Archive.
60741 (4 October 1980): 8
received good reviews, and very nearly won the Polignac Prize.
Williams, Merryn. Six Women Novelists, Macmillan.
45
FMM
was judged sensitive yet detached, firm and...
Textual Features
Flora Macdonald Mayor
The Rector's Daughter showcases once again FMM
's ability to make literature and her own experiences immediately relevant, as well as her outspokenness. Condensing the friction between the dying Victorian world and the modern world...