About

This introductory talk explores the relationship between two giants of 19th-century literature. 

Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell were opposites in many ways, yet they were profoundly interested in each other’s work and lives. Their first meeting in the Lake District in 1850 led to a real friendship. Charlotte had written the instant classic Jane Eyre and then Shirley, while Elizabeth’s astounding debut novel Mary Barton had been well-received. 

This talk by Libby Tempest, Vice-Chair of the Gaskell Society, uses letters, writing, and contemporary accounts to examine what held the friendship between these two extraordinary women together.