Showing results by author "Elizabeth Gaskell" in All Categories

A Victorian family gathers round the hearth, and one by one they tell each other their Winter's tales. Charles Dickens begins 'the round of stories they were to relate, as they sat in a goodly circle by the Christmas fire', and then hands over to Elizabeth Gaskell, Samuel Sidney and other respected contributors to the Christmas 1852 number of Household Words.

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.

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.

Featuring work by M. R. James, Edith Nesbit, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Atherton and many more, this enhanced audio collection of eight enduring stories - some well-known, others less familiar - transport you to a candlelit fireside to hear tales of lonely coastlines, deadly rivers, dark, creaking corridors, horrific, everlasting love and unknown entities lurking in black velvet shadows.

This collection of tales transports the listener to a time when staircases creaked in old manor houses, and a candle could be blown out by a gust of wind—or by a passing ghost. Penned by some of the greatest Victorian novelists and masters of the ghost story genre, each comes to life in this vivid rendition.

"In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women." This is how our guide and narrator, Mary Smith, introduces us to the small English country town of Cranford. Young, modern Mary gives us her Austen-like view of small-town customs, Victorian values, decorum, and etiquette. Mary gives us a charming, sometimes gently mocking comedy of manners.

When Margaret Hale moves with her father from the comfort of the south of England to the industrial north, she is at first repulsed by what she sees; and then when she discovers the conditions under which the workers are forced to live, she is outraged. But this throws her into direct conflict with the powerful young mill-owner, John Thornton. Using personal passions to explore deep social divisions, North and South is a great romance and one of Elizabeth Gaskell's finest works.

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.

The narrator - the old nurse of the title - is an old family retainer who has worked in the service of the same family for three generations. She tells the young children about a dark incident that she experienced in the company of the children’s mother, when she was a young woman and visiting her mother’s ancestral home.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Gibson worships her widowed father. But when he decides to remarry, Molly’s life is thrown off course by the arrival of her vain, shallow, and selfish stepmother. There is some solace in the shape of her new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, sophisticated and irresistible to every man she meets. Soon the girls become close, and Molly finds herself cajoled into becoming a go-between in Cynthia’s love affairs. But in doing so, Molly risks ruining her reputation in the gossiping village of Hollingford - and jeopardizing everything with the man she is secretly in love with.

Almost always when we think of Ghost Stories, we first think of those written by the Victorians. Whatever the reasons given or proffered the reality and known facts are that 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 listening pleasure.

On Christmas Eve, a party of friends descends on a purportedly haunted country retreat, charged with the task of discovering evidence of the supernatural. Sequestered in their rooms for the holiday, the friends reconvene on Twelfth Night at a great feast and share their stories of spectral encounters.

This classic novel has been thrice adapted for the screen by the BBC. Mary Smith relates the story of her time with middle-aged spinster sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah. Witty, poignant, and often ironic, Cranford is the tale of what these two women will do to remain respectable, proper, and kind with only moderate means.

Discover the enchanting world of 'A House to Let' through this captivating audiobook. A collaborative work by some of the most celebrated authors of the 19th century, including Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Adelaide Anne Procter, this literary gem offers a collection of interconnected stories that will transport you to the intriguing and mysterious setting of a vacant house. In this audiobook, you'll experience a unique blend of vivid character development, Victorian charm, and suspenseful storytelling.

"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.

The Best of Women's Short Stories, Volume 2 is a celebration of iconic female writers from the 19th and 20th centuries; featuring eight full-length stories relating the many experiences and complexities of womanhood. This collection brings together stories by Katherine Mansfield, Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, Kate Chopin and Jane Austen.

When her father remarries, the honest, innocent Molly Gibson suddenly finds herself with a new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, worldly and impetuous. This would be more than enough to deal with, but the new wife is the deeply snobbish (and darkly secretive) Hyacinth. Thwarted love, scheming ambition and small-town gossip underlie the warmth, irony and brilliant social observation which link the relationships and the inevitable conflicts as profound change comes to rural England.

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.

Elizabeth Gaskell is equally well known as Mrs Gaskell. When her mother died, she was three months old and she was sent to live in Knutsford, Cheshire with her Aunt Hannah, this setting would become the basis for her novel Cranford.

In this classic Victorian novel, Elizabeth Gaskell explores the themes of love and social justice in an industrial age. Set in the north of England, out-of-towner Margaret Hale finds herself simultaneously attracted to mill owner John Thorton, and repulsed by the way he treats his workers. Full of history, romance, and social commentary, North & South will provoke your mind and tug at your heart. This production is read for you actress Jenny Agutter, most famously known for The Railway Children.