Elizabeth Gaskell’s Radical Manchester at Portico Library and Gaskell House

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Elizabeth Gaskell’s Radical Manchester & Visit to Gaskell House

Manchester Town Hall, City Centre
4 March 2017

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

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Although taking on the stereotypical traditional roles of wife, mother, supporter of her husband’s work and manager of a household, Elizabeth Gaskell was a radical woman of her time. We see this in the themes running through her books – single women, poverty, class, employer/employee relations and industrial Manchester – but her personal life also shows that she thought and acted in ways different to many women in the nineteenth century.

This tour will bring out Gaskell’s radical approach to life by visiting the Portico Library then travelling by bus to Elizabeth Gaskell’s House in Plymouth Grove, where she lived for fifteen years and where she wrote many of her novels. Here you will learn more about her life, and about some of the other radical women she met. The event finishes with some delicious tea and homemade cake!

Where to go near Elizabeth Gaskell’s Radical Manchester at Portico Library and Gaskell House

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Albert Square

A public square in the heart of Manchester which plays hosts to festivals and major events. Home to the Albert Memorial and statues of Bishop James Fraser, John Bright, Oliver Heywood and William Ewart Gladstone.

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The building’s striking architecture combines classic brickwork with sleek, modern design elements, creating an inviting atmosphere that captures the essence of Manchester’s vibrant energy.

Contemporary Six, art gallery in Manchester
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10 Tib Lane

At a time when many city-centre restaurants are fighting to be the loudest and most ostentatious, 10 Tib Lane is all about elegant, sophisticated dining.

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