Elizabeth Gaskell’s House Writers in Residence

Manchester
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Elizabeth Gaskell’s House has made it possible to commission three Writing Squad as Writers in Residence. They will be spending time immersing themselves in Elizabeth’s world and responding creatively to her legacy. Guruleen Kahlo, Princess Arinola Adegbite and Georgia Affonso will be exploring not only Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) as the writer of North and South, Cranford and Mary Barton, but as a woman whose life was led by a sense of social justice.

The project, in collaboration with Manchester City of Literature, celebrates 10 years since the restoration of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, which once lay abandoned, but is now Manchester’s only literary house. The restoration of Elizabeth’s Grade II* listed Georgian villa was made possible by a community campaign that led to funding by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, who are now supporting this project.

What the writers have in common, apart from being members of The Writing Squad, is that Elizabeth Gaskell was not a writer they knew, so discovering her world has immediately opened up exciting possibilities. As part of the project they will also create educational resources for use, particularly in schools in the vicinity of Elizabeth’s house.