Dear Readers,
Welcome to the “A Guest on Writing…” page of the Regency Inkwell. We hope to bring you posts from guest bloggers and/or writers of the Regency or Victorian period. Please stay tuned for some exciting news and I hope you enjoy.
Sincerely.
…Miguelina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“A Concise Biography of Elizabeth Gaskell”
by Katherine Cox
As the wife of a Unitarian Minister living in Manchester, Elizabeth Gaskell was acutely aware of factory life and the struggles of the poor and wrote about them in her first novel Mary Barton. To learn more about her road to publication and success, please visit the Gaskell Blog.
Mrs. Gaskell was approached by Charles Dickens to contribute to his magazine Household Words. Mrs. Gaskell had grown up with her Aunt Hannah Lumb, in the small Cheshire town of Knutsford, this setting of elderly ladies and elegant economy inspired her most popular work, Cranford. Delighted with it, Dickens pressed her for more.
The Gaskell’s had a comfortable family of four daughters and a happy home. She was surrounded by many great thinkers and authors of the era: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charlotte Bronte, Florence Nightingale, John Ruskin, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Mary and William Howitt to name a few.
Previously overlooked, her bicentenary celebration in 2010 brought more recognition to her work when Westminster Abbey added her name to the poet’s corner. She died in 1862, just a little shy of completed her sixth novel, Wives and Daughters. Ms. Gaskell wrote various novellas and short stories, and a biography of Charlotte Bronte.
Guest blogger, Ms. Katherine Cox is in her twenties and lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has always had a love for reading and learning. Art history, ballet, and photography are some of her other interests. But special and close to her heart is her love for Elizabeth Gaskell. In addition to her appearing as a guest blogger at The Regency Inkwell, I decided to ask Ms. Cox a few questions about herself and her love for Gaskell and her writing.
TRI: Tell us about your fascination with Elizabeth Gaskell.
KC: First, thank you Miguelina for inviting me to write this guest-post. My fascination for Elizabeth Gaskell began with the BBC as they presented some of her memorable stories in film adaptations. I have always loved to watch period dramas and heard of the beautiful adaptation of North and South through The Republic of Pemberley ( http://pemberly.com ). Although, I admit, it wasn’t until I later watched Wives and Daughters, and saw the small documentary of her included in the DVD, that I really became aware of who Mrs. Gaskell was.
One afternoon while compiling a list of my favorite period dramas, I realized Gaskell’s were ranked among the top five. After reading the three that had been adapted into film, I fell in love with her writing style. Around the same time Laurel Ann of Austenprose (http://austenprose.com) invited me to join in a Bicentennary Celebration of Gaskell. It was then I decided to create a blog to journal what I had learned about Gaskell and hopefully meet other admirers of her work and hopefully bring more awareness to those who either knew very little or nothing about her.
TRI: What is about her writing that has you in awe?
KC: I can summarize it in few words: “He shrank from hearing Margaret’s very name mentioned; he, while he blamed her–while he was jealous of her–while he renounced her–he loved her sorely, in spite of himself.” – North & South
Wives and Daughters and North and South are my favorite of her works; she has a wonderful knack for knitting a story. Her compassion for human nature comes out in the way she writes. And her books are enjoyable; you come to love the characters, to feel with them, and always happy to go and visit with them time after time.
“Alice could love deeply, but could not talk about it. The perpetual requirement of loving words, looks, and caresses, and misconstruing their absence into absence of love, had been the great trial of her former married life. Now, all went on clear and straight, under the guidance of her husband’s strong sense, warm heart, and powerful will.” – The Manchester Marriage
She was so involved in life, always doing something for her family, community, and friends; she rarely revised her work, and so the novels are truly her raw talent. That really amazes me.
Imagine if she had had the time to sit and focus on her writing? Before her death she had just purchased a home to surprise her husband; a place they could retire. What would have poured into her pages? We can only dream. Wives and Daughters was just a glimpse of it, I’m sure.
TRI: I love North and South. I have not read the book, but own the movie with Richard Armitage and hope to read it one of these days. Do you have other favorite authors of the Victorian period?
KC: I love Anne and Charlotte Bronte; it’s rather fitting as Mrs. Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte and later wrote her biography at the family’s request. There are many authors of the era that I hope to read this coming year: Eliot, Trollope, Dickens, and Collins.
TRI: I wish I had more time, I would love to dig into Dickens. What do you want readers to walk away ith after reading her works?
KC: I hope an appreciation for her writing and a wish to read more of it. But more importantly that they enjoy her work.
“Molly could have cried with passionate regret at the thought of the unvalued treasure lying at Cynthia’s feet; and it would have been a merely unselfish regret. It was the old fervid tenderness. ‘Do not wish for the moon, O my darling, for I cannot give it thee.’ Cynthia’s love was the moon Roger yearned for; and Molly saw that it was far away and out of reach, else would she have strained her heart-chords to give it to Roger.” – Wives & Daughters
TRI: With such words, folks should enjoy and come to appreciate her and her work – I know I will. Well, thank you so much for appearing as our guest and providing us with “A Concise Biography of Elizabeth Gaskell.” I enjoyed it very much and I am sure so will all of our readers. I wish you luck with your research and hope you come again. Feel free to keep us posted as you discover new things about Ms. Gaskell.
KC: Thank you and I shall.
Having read the delightful concise biography of Elizabeth Gaskell I thought it appropriate to tell other Gaskellites that we volunteers at the Knutsford Heritage Centre are proud of our literary lady and keep her memory alive by taking many groups of visitors and individuals on a one hour tour of her ‘dear adopted native town’ where she spent her childhood. We try to create a flavour of the ‘amazons of Cranford’ as well as some of the buildings and characters which inspired her writings. We see the exterior of Heathwaite House, Aunt Lumb’s home and, often, we are invited to walk in the garden by the current owners.
Wow! That is awesome. Wish I could be there…Thanks for sharing…M. Perez
That sounds lovely! 🙂
[…] join me at the lovely blog, Regency Inkwell, where I was invited by Pamela and Miguelina to write a guest post. As the wife of a Unitarian […]
Really enjoyed the concise bio and interview–Gaskell’s life and works are so moving, rich and interesting.
Katherine has a lovely blog (Two, actually!) and we share much as for classic authors. I appreciate her thoughtful, thorough work online very much. Thanks for showcasing her and her love for Mrs Gaskell.
By the way, it’s time you read North and South and then re-watch the series with Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe to discover what a good job Sandy Welch did with her script. Unforgettable!
Hi,
Thanks for your comments. I promise to read North and South and then re-watch the film. I have a deadline right now but after December 2, I shall be a free bird. My best, M. Perez
Thank you for the kind comments Maria Grazia! Hugs!
Thank you for a great post – I have always thought EG deserved more attention!
You are welcome. Glad you liked it and sorry for the delay response. Hope to bring more from Ms. Cox. Happy Holidays!