Dossier
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865)
Elizabeth Gaskell, often known as ‘Mrs Gaskell’ wrote both novels and short stories that give us a detailed picture of what life was like for the different classes in Victorian England. This Christian movement doesn’t believe that God is one being in three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, Unitarians believe that Jesus Christ wasn’t God himself, but inspired by God in his teachings.
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Early life Elizabeth Gaskell was born in London in 1810, the daughter of a Unitarian minister, William Stevenson, and the youngest of eight children. Her mother died when Elizabeth was only 13 months old, so Elizabeth’s father sent her to live with her mother’s sister, Hannah, in Knutsford, Cheshire. Several years passed without Elizabeth seeing her father, but the
only brother she had left, John, (her other brothers and sisters all died young) often came to visit her at her aunt’s home. Her aunt looked after her well and Elizabeth grew into a beautiful young woman with a kind, gentle character. She loved the simple country lifestyle of Knutsford and had a happy childhood there, even though she had nothing of her own.
Knutsford is a town in Cheshire in the north west of England. Elizabeth Gaskell loved this place as a child and one of her most famous novels, Cranford, is set in the fictional village of Cranford, based on Knustford.
