Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell was an English author known for her depiction of middle-class life in small country towns. She was the first biographer of Charlotte Brontë. Elizabeth Gaskell wrote sociological novels that explored the ills of industrial England and novels of small-town life that are penetrating studies of character. Charles Dickens called her "My Dear Scheherazade".
Background
Born in Chelsea, London, Sept. 29, 1810. She was the youngest of the eight children of William Stevenson, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Scotland, and Elizabeth Holland of an old family in Cheshire. Left motherless at the age of 13 months, she was reared by a maternal aunt, Mrs. Hannah Lumb, in Knutsford, Cheshire, which as "Cranford" was to become the scene of her most famous novel. At 13, after her happy childhood, she was sent to the boarding school in Stratford-on-Avon, where she remained for five years.
Education
In 1821 Elizabeth started attending a boarding-school near Warwick run by the Misses Byerley. The education was of high quality, broad in range and liberal in outlook. In 1824 Elizabeth’s school moved to Stratford-on-Avon, where she remained for two years, including the holidays. She studied, apart from general subject, French, Italian, and Latin.
She spent these years in surroundings that admirably suited her tastes, intelligence, and love of the country, leaving the school in 1826 an accomplished and - according to the evidence of friends and artists - a vivacious and attractive young woman.
Career
Today Gaskell is generally considered a lesser figure in English letters remembered chiefly for her minor classics "Cranford and Wives and Daughters: An Every-day Story". Gaskell's early fame as a social novelist began with the 1848 publication of “Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life”, in which she pricked the conscience of industrial England through her depiction and analysis of the working classes. Many critics were hostile to the novel because of its open sympathy for the workers in their relations with the masters, but the high quality of writing and characterization were undeniable. The later publication of “North and South”, also dealing with the relationship of workers and masters, strengthened Gaskell's status as a leader in social fiction.
Two controversies marred Gaskell's literary career. In 1853 she shocked and offended many of her readers with “Ruth”, an exploration of seduction and illegitimacy prompted by anger at moral conventions that condemned a "fallen woman" to ostracism and almost inevitable prostitution. The strength of the novel lies in its presentation of social conduct within a small Dissenting community when tolerance and rigid morality clash. The second controversy arose following the 1857 publication of “The Life of Charlotte Brontë”. The biography's initial wave of praise was quickly followed by angry protests from some of the people dealt with. Despite the initial complications and restrictions necessitated by conventions of that period, “The Life of Charlotte Brontë” has established itself as one of the great biographies; later biographies have modified but not replaced it.
During 1858 and 1859 Gaskell wrote several items, mainly for Dickens, of which two are of particular interest. “My Lady Ludlow”, a short novel cut in two by a long digressive tale, is reminiscent of “Cranford”, yet the setting and social breadth anticipates “Wives and Daughters”. The second work, “Lois the Witch”, is a somber novella concerning the Salem witch trials which prefigures Gaskell's next work, “Sylvia's Lovers”, by its interest in morbid psychology. “Sylvia's Lovers” is a powerful if somewhat melodramatic novel. The first two volumes are full of energy; they sparkle and have humor. The ending, however, shows forced invention rather than true tragedy.
Most critics agree that “Cousin Phillis” is Gaskell's crowning achievement in the short novel. “Cousin Phillis” is also recognized as a fitting prelude for Gaskell's final and most widely acclaimed novel, “Wives and Daughters: An Every-Day Story”, which ran in “Cornhill” from August 1864 to January 1866. The final installment was never written, yet the ending was known and the novel as it exists is virtually complete.
Critical awareness of Gaskell as a social historian is now more than balanced by awareness of her innovativeness and artistic development as a novelist. While scholars continue to debate the precise nature of her talent, they also reaffirm the singular attractiveness of her best works.
Although she was enthusiastically interested in the political questions of the day, and her warm, impulsive nature made her ready at any time to give personal help and sympathy where it seemed to be needed, Mrs Gaskell refrained from taking active part in public movements or social reforms.
Interests
German literature, travelling
Writers
Oliver Goldsmith, William Cowper, George Eliot, Charlotte Brontë