BLOG TOUR - CELEBRATE ELIZABETH GASKELL'S 200th ANNIVERSARY

Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Birth

with a Blog Tour on September 29th, 2010

"He shrank from hearing Margaret's very name mentioned; he, while he blamed her--while he was jealous of her--while he renounced her--he loved her sorely, in spite of himself." Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South

Elizabeth Gaskell birthday blog tour graphic by Katherine Cox of November’s Autumn

2010 marks the bicentenary of mid-Victorian novelist and short story writer Elizabeth Gaskell’s birth on September 29th, 1810 near London. Best known for her detailed and sensitive portrayals of English social strata, her novels are cherished by literature lovers and social historians for their honest depiction of life of the rich and the poor from the first half of the nineteenth century. Five of her books have also been brought vividly to the screen in television mini-series adaptations: The Brontes of Haworth (1973), Wives and Daughters (1999), North and South (2004), Cranford (2007) and Return to Cranford (2009).

To honor Mrs. Gaskell’s literary achievement, please join me and other fellow Gaskell enthusiasts for a blog tour in celebration of her birthday. Visit any of the participant’s blogs on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 to read about her life and times, and reviews of books and movie film adaptations. There you will also find a link to take you to the next blog on the tour. Enjoy!

Biography
Elizabeth Gaskell’s life and times: Vic – Jane Austen’s World

Novels/Biography
Mary Barton (1848) Book: Kelly – Jane Austen Sequel Examiner
Cranford (2007) Movie: Laura – The Calico Critic
Ruth (1853) Book: Joanna – Regency Romantic
North and South (1854–5) Book: Laurel Ann – Austenprose
North and South (2004) Movie: Maria Grazia– Fly High
Sylvia's Lovers (1863) Book: Courtney – Stiletto Storytime
Wives and Daughters (1865) Book: Katherine – November’s Autumn
Wives and Daughters (1999) Movie: Elaine – Random Jottings
The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) Book & (1973) Movie The Brontes of Haworth: JaneGS – Reading, Writing, Working, Playing

Novellas

Mr. Harrison's Confessions (1851) Book: Alexandra – The Sleepless Reader
My Lady Ludlow (1859) Book: Alexandra – The Sleepless Reader
Cousin Phillis (1864) Book: Alexandra – The Sleepless Reader


Resources

Your Gaskell Library: Links to MP3's, ebooks, audio books, other downloads and reading resources available online: Janite Deb – Jane Austen in Vermont

"Sometimes one likes foolish people for their folly,

better than wise people for their wisdom." Elizabeth Gaskell, Wives and Daughters

Portrait of Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (née Stevenson), by George Richmond, chalk, 1851. Bequeathed to the © National Portrait Gallery, London by the sitter's daughter, Margaret Emily Gaskell, 1913