Talks & discussions

A bold new exhibition is set to open at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House this summer that introduces a new view of the author and her work (Thursday 3 July to Sunday 9 November).  I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell follows a residency completed by three young writers who have spent the spring months being inspired by Manchester’s only literary house.  The writers are Georgia Affonso,Princess Arinola Adegbite and Guruleen Kahlo and the project has been supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with The Writing Squad and Manchester City of Literature.

I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell will be an immersive exhibition that flows throughout the Georgian villa, with the writers’ words illuminating the experience. Georgia, Princess and Guruleen have spent a great deal of time at the house, including in the dining room where Elizabeth wrote – to enjoy the views across the garden and warmth of the sun, and because she didn’t have her own study like her husband. This focal point is where the narrative begins.  Creatively the approach is very contemporary, with the aim of engaging new visitors to the house who, like the writers, might also be discovering Elizabeth’s fascinating story for the first time.  There will be author ‘profiles’, ‘biogs’ and QR codes to connect to the work, alongside the objects that have inspired the writers.

In her short stories Guruleen slices through the history of the house; from the laughter of a family home to the present day.  And within it themes of equality, motherhood, loss and transformation are tenderly woven.  Guruleen says, “when I discovered that Elizabeth wrote short stories herself, partly because of the interruptions from the children and everything happening around her, the idea really called to me.”  In the stories we meet Elizabeth the author, wife, mother and mistress and see the turmoil that goes with this as she contemplates the contrast with her husband’s quiet study space and navigates the necessities of running a busy house, whilst meeting writing deadlines.  There is much that will resonate with readers.

The stories are a reminder of the demands that Elizabeth encountered and also hint at why her legacy has taken time to embed; her papers destroyed after her death at Elizabeth’s own instruction and the house later abandoned.  Guruleen is completing her final year at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she is studying English and Creative Writing. “I’ve loved the experience of being in the house” she says “It feels so different to any other historical house or museum.  I’ve been able to sit at the very table that Elizabeth wrote at and interact with the house as if the Gaskell’s have just gone away.”  Guruleen is from Birmingham and now lives in Manchester.

In Georgia’s writing she overlays a personal experience of what could have been a barrier to her becoming one of the writers in residence, which is that she had mixed memories of visiting historical properties as a child and found the experience suffocating. But those reservations have been dismissed thanks to “how warm and welcoming the house feels to me”.  And so in her play we are taken on a house tour. The inspiration for this comes from her time spent with the volunteers, whose insights, gossip and myths she has found intriguing.  But this isn’t the only house tour, with glimpses of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House run in parallel with the tour of the house of a lost loved one against a narrative that weaves the two worlds.

The surroundings that Georgia writes about are observed in painstaking detail and the emotions they evoke are vivid, just as they are in Elizabeth’s writing.  Visitors will be able to listen to Georgia’s play in audio as part of the exhibition experience, which for Georgia continues a journey that has already seen her work commissioned by BBC Radio 4, having completed a degree in Music and Drama from the University of Manchester (2016).  Georgia is from Oxfordshire and now lives in Manchester.

In Princess’ poetry you can feel the connection to Elizabeth: the person, the author.  There is empathy with her fellow writer and a recognition of the different roles that Elizabeth needed to play in her life.  “Elizabeth was middle-class and she didn't have to write about working-class people” says Princess, “but she cared about writing about working-class people, and enslaved people.  And learning about that, her belief in those topics, was really interesting to me as someone who comes from a very marginalised background but also cares about people that don't look like me.”

Elizabeth was writing over 150 years ago, but in Princess’ words the commonality is clear: ‘we must be many women’.  And, from not having read or known about Elizabeth in her poetry she finds ‘Each of her words are rooms I can rest within. How language opens becomes a door I can walk through.’  Princess has written seven poems which visitors will be able to experience in areas of the house that reflect their inspiration and themes, including the garden that Elizabeth’s writing table overlooks.  Prior to being a creative writer and performer, Princess studied English Literature at the University of Liverpool.  She is from Salford and now lives in Manchester.

Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) lived at the house on Plymouth Grove from 1850 to 1865 with her husband William and daughters, Marianne, Meta, Florence and Julia. Her life saw her attending grand social events like the opening of The Great Exhibition (1851) and hosting visitors including Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë.  But Elizabeth also was an observer of the working classes in ‘miserable living’ conditions and ‘crowded dwellings’ and the position of women in society, who she wrote about in novels including North and South and Mary Barton.  Elizabeth not only wrote to bring about the social justice that she believed in, but was actively involved.  She set up early forms of soup kitchens, ran sewing classes during the strikes of the Cotton Famine, and helped young unmarried women who had been imprisoned because of their circumstances.

Supporting the project’s aims and aspirations is a steering group made up of volunteers and trustees.  20% of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House trustees are aged 18-25 and 10% of its volunteers.  A third of the staff team is under 30.

Young Trustee of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Rose Palmer, says, “It’s been thrilling to see Elizabeth’s story and the house through the eyes, words and emotions of our writers in residence.  Elizabeth was an absolute trailblazer and it’s this spirit that has connected her to Georgia, Princess and Guruleen.  I hope that through their work more people will be intrigued by Elizabeth and come along to the house to experience her world.  I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell is the perfect exhibition through which to make that discovery.”

Georgia, Princess and Guruleen are all part of The Writing Squad, which seeks to nurture the next generation of writers and has been mentoring them throughout their residency.  Manchester City of Literature is also a project partner, which through its work celebrates Manchester’s literary heritage, creativity and voices, both within the city and internationally.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is open every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 11:00am to 4:30pm.  Entry is £8.50 for adults and free for children under 16, when accompanied by an adult.  Tickets are valid for 12 months from purchase and can be pre-booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/elizabeth-gaskell-house.  For further information visit www.elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk