Elizabeth Gaskell

Author profile

born

September 29, 1810 in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, The United Kingdom

died

November 12, 1865

gender

female

genre

Literature & Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs

About this author

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Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. She is perhaps best known for her biography of Charlotte Brontë. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.

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Books by Elizabeth Gaskell

Average rating: 3.97 · 38,651 ratings · 4,575 reviews · 149 distinct works

	North and South 4.11 avg rating — 17,902 ratings — published 1855 — 125 editions	My rating:
	Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, Pam Morris (editor) 4.07 avg rating — 8,101 ratings — published 1866 — 93 editions	My rating:
	Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, Patricia Ingham 3.76 avg rating — 5,661 ratings — published 1853 — 146 editions	My rating:
	Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell, Shirley Foster (Editor, Introduction & Notes by) 3.62 avg rating — 2,499 ratings — published 1848 — 84 editions	My rating:
	The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, Angus Easson (Editor, Introduction, Notes) 3.81 avg rating — 1,169 ratings — published 1857 — 74 editions	My rating:
	Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell, Angus Easson (Editor) 3.67 avg rating — 817 ratings — published 1853 — 59 editions	My rating:
	Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, Laura Kranzler (Editor) 3.71 avg rating — 296 ratings — published 2001 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell, Shirley Foster 3.59 avg rating — 329 ratings — published 1863 — 55 editions	My rating:
	The Cranford Chronicles 3.71 avg rating — 308 ratings — published 1859 — 10 editions	My rating:
	Cranford and Cousin Phillis by Elizabeth Gaskell, P.J. Keating (Editor) 3.87 avg rating — 172 ratings — published 1976 — 5 editions	My rating:

More books by Elizabeth Gaskell…

Quotes by Elizabeth Gaskell

“People may flatter themselves just as much by thinking that their faults are always present to other people's minds, as if they believe that the world is always contemplating their individual charms and virtues.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell

tags: faults , self-esteem

108 people liked it

“I'll not listen to reason... reason always means what someone else has got to say.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford

tags: humor , independent-thought , reasoning , self-trust

82 people liked it

“Oh, Mr. Thornton, I am not good enough!'

Not good enough! Don't mock my own deep feeling of unworthiness.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South

tags: love

73 people liked it

See all Elizabeth Gaskell's quotes »

Polls

Who, in your opinion, writes the most attention-keeping, easy-flowing story?

Jane Austen

222 votes, 38.3%

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock, of course)

208 votes, 35.9%

Charles Dickens

88 votes, 15.2%

Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Scarlet Pimpernel)

27 votes, 4.7%

Elizabeth Gaskell (Wives & Daughters, Cranford)

24 votes, 4.1%

John Buchan (Thirty-Nine Steps, Hannay series)

10 votes, 1.7%

579 total votes

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