Dossier

Elizabeth Gaskell

(1810-1865)

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. 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 fi ctional village of Cranford, based on Knustford.

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 diff erent classes in Victorian England.

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.

Education

Elizabeth went to school in Stratford-on-Avon where she studied the usual subjects for girls from rich families at that time. These included art, the classics and how young ladies should behave. She also loved reading the classics her aunt gave her and the modern books her brother sent her, as well as his letters describing his life at sea and all the foreign places he visited. Unfortunately, John was lost at sea during a voyage to India. She left school when she was sixteen and travelled around Britain visiting cousins and her father.

Marriage and Career

Elizabeth got married to a Unitarian minister, William Gaskell, in 1832 in Knutsford. Once married, they went to live in Manchester and the social problems that Elizabeth saw in the city gave her many ideas for her industrial novels. When her son died at a very young age in 1844, she decided to write to try to forget this loss. This is when she wrote her fi rst novel Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life, in which she describes the terrible living and working conditions of the lower class in Manchester. It was an immediate success and people said she was the best writer since Jane Austen. Other successful novels followed, including Cranford (1851-53), North and South (1854-55), and Wives and Daughters (1865). These were all later adapted for television by the BBC.

An industrial or social novel focuses on social problems, such as, poor housing for workers, the fact that children had to work and terrible working conditions: in general, all the problems that existed in industrialised cities during the Victorian period.

Charlotte Brontë

Online Research

Go online for more information about the English novelist and poet, Charlotte Brontë, and complete the information below.

1 Date of birth __________________ 2 Place of birth _________________ 3 Sisters’ names ______________

4 Most famous novel __________

5 Date of death ______________

Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë

Many of Elizabeth Gaskell’s friends were writers and these included Charlotte Brontë, who stayed at Elizabeth’s house many times. After Charlotte died in 1855, her father asked Elizabeth to write his daughter’s biography, The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857). Much of the information Elizabeth Gaskell used in the book came from the hundreds of letters sent by Charlotte to her friend Ellen Nussey.

Charles Dickens

Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens loved Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing and after her fi rst novel, Mary Barton, he asked her to write for his magazine Household Words. She gave him the fi rst part of Cranford and Dickens liked it so much that he kept asking for more. This is how Cranford became a sixteen-chapter serial novel. Many more of her works were published in Dickens’ magazine including the short story in this collection called The Manchester Marriage, which appeared in the magazine in 1858.

Final years

Elizabeth Gaskell worked constantly and became more and more tired as she tried to do all the things she loved, like writing, being a good mother to her daughters and helping people with problems. She began to get terrible headaches and decided it was time to move away from Manchester and its polluted air. Therefore, in the summer of 1865, she bought a house in Hampshire without telling her husband. She wanted it to be a surprise for him once it was exactly the way she wanted it. it was exactly the way she wanted it. Unfortunately, in November of that same year, while she was visiting the house with her daughters, she had a heart attack and died. She was fi fty-fi ve years old.

Reading Comprehension – Characters

1 Read about the characters in The Manchester Marriage and match each description with the correct name.

1 She’s a pretty, gentle, kind, young woman who tries to please everyone, especially her daughter and son. 2 She’s a housemaid and will do anything for her mistress, Alice. 3 He goes away to sea a lot but likes to spend time with his son, Frank, and his wife. 4 This middle-aged woman is often alone because her husband is a sea captain. 5 Like his father, this handsome young man often goes on long voyages. 6 This poor little girl has terrible back problems which means she can’t walk. 7 This little boy, unlike his sister, Ailsie, can run about happily. 8 He’s a successful businessman and more interested in his work than women.

a Captain Wilson e Edwin b Ailsie f Mr Openshaw c Norah g Alice d Frank Wilson h Mrs Wilson

Vocabulary – Synonyms

2 Match the words that mean the same.

1 manufacture a convince 2 manager b angry 3 trendy c wedding 4 marriage d pair 5 furious e fashionable 6 couple f boss 7 persuade g make

Reading

3 Choose the correct word (A, B, C or D) for each space to complete the text about The Manchester Marriage and the author, Elizabeth Gaskell.

The Manchester Marriage is a (1)___________ story about a young woman called Alice. Alice and the writer have something (2)___________ common because Alice goes to live with her uncle and his second wife after her parents die, (3)___________ Elizabeth Gaskell went to live with her aunt after her mother died. Apart from that, they’re (4)___________ different. Elizabeth Gaskell was married (5)___________ once and was always busy trying to be a good mother to her four daughters and a successful writer too. On the (6)___________ hand, everyone thinks that Alice’s fi rst husband, Frank Wilson, is lost at sea, so Alice marries for a second time. She never goes out to work because she wants to stay (7) ___________ her daughter who can’t walk, but after her fi rst husband (8) ___________ missing, she rents out rooms in her home to make some money. This is how she meets her second husband, Mr Openshaw.

1 A small B little C low D short 2 A on B in C of D from 3 A while B besides C however D although 4 A very B much C enough D too 5 A already B just C yet D alone 6 A different B same C one D other 7 A close B from C near D next 8 A has B goes C will D does

Speaking – Victorian Sights

4 Tourists visiting London today can still see many of the city’s famous sights that were built during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. Match the pictures below with the name of these famous sights in the box.

Royal Albert Hall Tower Bridge Trafalgar Square Palm House, Kew Gardens Houses of Parliament Big Ben

1 2

3 4

5 6

Writing an Article

5 In the story, Mr Openshaw invites his uncle and aunt to visit

London. Write an article about an Italian city and describe what tourists can see and do there. Talk about:

- famous buildings and when they were constructed - museums and art galleries and what you can see in them - parks and gardens open to the public - other things to do in the city

Write about 100 words.

2

Speaking – Pair Work

6 Discuss these questions with a partner.

1 What does the title The Manchester Marriage tell you about the story? 2 What kind of story do you think it is? 3 What do you like reading? Why? 4 How often do you read for pleasure? 5 What are the most popular newspapers in Italy? 6 What kind of magazines can you find in the shops? 7 What kind of story would you like to write?

Listening – True or False

7 Listen to the start of The Manchester Marriage and decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1 Mr and Mrs Openshaw came from Manchester. 2 Mr Openshaw wasn’t good at his job. 3 His wife Alice was the same age as him. 4 Alice always did what her husband asked her to do. 5 Ailsie was Mr Openshaw’s daughter. 6 Edwin was Frank Wilson’s son. 7 Ailsie was older than Edwin.

T F

Elizabeth Gaskell

Th e Manchester Marriage

part 1

2

An industrial city that grew very fast during the Victorian period, mainly thanks to the cotton industry. Mr Openshaw was quite different from businessmen who lived in the capital and they probably thought he was a bit provincial for his accent and habits, like having dinner earlier than they did. In the West End of London, a street famous for expensive shops.

Mr and Mrs Openshaw moved to London from Manchester, when the manufacturing company Mr Openshaw worked for, asked him to manage their new warehouse* in the city.

Mr Openshaw, at the age of forty-two and now a successful businessman, was happy about this change, even if he didn’t really like Londoners. He thought they were lazy and only interested in fashion and spending their days walking about trendy places like Bond Street.

His pretty wife, Alice, was thirty-fi ve, and unlike* Mr Openshaw, who was loud and decided everything, she was gentle and always did what he said. Th ey had two children. Well, actually, Alice had two children because Ailsie, now eleven years old, was the daughter from her fi rst marriage to Frank Wilson, while little Edwin was born after she married Mr Openshaw. However, before continuing, I must tell you a little more about Alice before Mr Openshaw came into her life.

warehouse a big building where companies keep what they need to make their products or products ready to sell to shops unlike different from

3

At the age of fi fteen, Alice was an orphan and lived in Liverpool with her uncle, a sea captain and his second wife. Alice was a shy, pretty girl but lacked* self-confi dence*. Th erefore, when her cousin Frank Wilson came home after a long time at sea and quickly fell in love* with her, Alice felt grateful towards him. While Captain Wilson was at sea, Alice and Frank got married, with Norah, the housemaid, as their only witness*. Th e Captain’s wife was furious and sent the couple and Norah away. However, once back home, Captain Wilson often spent time with the couple, even though his wife didn’t approve*.

lack not have enough of something self-confi dence when you believe in your abilities and qualities fall in love develop a deep romantic liking for someone witness someone who is present at an event approve think something is right

Frank is Captain Wilson’s son, the uncle Alice has lived with since her parents died, so Frank and Alice are cousins.

Alice was young with no experience of men, so Frank’s love for her was something completely new to her. Most aristocratic and middle class Victorian families had a maid and other people to help with cleaning and cooking in the house.