These letters, covering such subjects as scarlet fever, the Lancashire cotton famine and the American Civil War, bring history alive. They also throw light on Gaskell's own writings, especially her biography of Charlotte Brontèe.

The reputation of Elizabeth Gaskell is undergoing a renaissance as we enter the new millennium. The variety of her work and the range of her acquaintance makes her one of the most interesting literary figures of her century. This new collection of her letters illustrates the richness and diversity of her involvement in a remarkable range of social and literary activities. Out of the 270 letters included in this volume only 40 have been previously published.

The letters of the four Gaskell daughters open a door into the social and cultural lives of a well-connected middle-class Victorian family. Events that impinged on the lives and the letters of these women include the Indian Mutiny, the assassination of Lincoln, the Franco-Prussian War, the Boer Wars and Fenian agitation. They witnessed the effects in England of the American Civil War, and engaged in the religious controversies of the day. They take a close interest in the impact of Darwin's discoveries, discuss the latest news, Ruskin's lectures on Venice, the Pre-Raphaelites, and what it is like to play Beethoven's piano pieces under Sir Charles Halle's tuition. They also shed light on the network of Unitarian friends and scholars who undertook the stewardship of Elizabeth Gaskell's writing. This richly annotated edition will appeal to anyone interested in Transatlantic relations, in Mrs Gaskell, in women's networking, in Victorian ideas and social life, and in the intellectual culture of dissenting circles.

In this tale of two writers, Nell Stevens interweaves her own life as a twenty-something graduate student with that of the English author, Elizabeth Gaskell. Although they are separated by more than 150 years, Nell finds herself drawn to the Victorian novelist by their shared experiences of unrequited love—Gaskell for an American critic she met in Rome, Nell for a soulful American screenwriter living in Paris. As Nell’s romance founders and her passion for academia fails to materialize, she finds herself wondering if the indomitable Mrs. Gaskell might rescue her pursuit of love, family, and a writing career. Lively, witty, and impossible to put down, The Victorian and the Romantic is a moving chronicle of two women, each charting a way of life beyond the rules of her time.