Elizabeth gaskell brief biography

English novelist, biographer, and short story writer (1810–1865)

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (néeStevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer.

Elizabeth gaskell brief biography

Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of Victorian society, including the very poor. Her first novel, Mary Barton, was published in 1848. Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Brontë, published in 1857, was the first biography of Charlotte Brontë.

In this biography, she wrote only of the moral, sophisticated things in Brontë's life; the rest she omitted, deciding certain, more salacious aspects were better kept hidden. Among Gaskell's best known novels are Cranford (1851–1853), North and South (1854–1855), and Wives and Daughters (1864–1866), all of which were adapted for television by the BBC.

Early life

Mrs. Gaskell was born Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson on 29 September 1810 in Li