Best known work

• Cranford, 1851

Other well known work(s)

• North and South, 1854
• Ruth, 1853
• Mary Barton, 1848
• The Life of Charlotte Brontë, 1857

Genres

• Biography / Autobiography
• Fiction - Novels
• Fiction - Short Stories

Nom de plume

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, Elizabeth Stevenson

Social class

Middle class

Parental background

Her father was a minister. Raised and educated chiefly be her aunts (with whom she lived for much of her childhood) then sent away to school at eleven.

At publication of best known work

• Age: 41
• Marital status: Married
• Number of children: 4

Physical description

"Elizabeth was of medium height, tending to plumpness (especially in later life)" (Jenny Uglow, ODNB). A letter quoted in Littell's Living Age Vol 206, Sept 7, 1895 recalls "her face was most interesting, with very delicately cut features, and a specially fine brow. Her hair was dark, and her hazel eyes had an unusual brightness [...]. She was of medium height, graceful and dignified of bearing."

Did you know?

Gaskell bought a house for her husband as a secret retirement gift but sadly died of a massive heart attack ten days after she saw the house for the first time.

Additional information

The Gaskell Society organise regular events and are happy to share their knowledge via their website. The British library has a brief introduction and the Victorian Web hosts a number of scholarly resources.