Elizabeth Gaskell

[Bick]

Before I saw Wives and Daughters I knew Mrs. Gaskell as a writer of ghost stories. "The Old Nurse's Tale" is one of her best.

That short story is one of the only things I've ever read by Gaskell. I agree its pretty good. Its the first tale in Michael Sims' The Phantom Coach, A Connoisseurs' Collection of Victorian Ghost Stories. Its a good collection for those who like such things.

The existence of Gaskell is one of many authors who make me wish I could live much longer than is likely. Undoubtedly a writer of quality, but there are so many great writers who are not top of my wish list, and I do wonder if I'll ever get around to reading Gaskell much before my time comes. I'll do well to get through all the Dickens', Balzac's and Trollope's, and they take priority I think. Sigh.

 

[Extollager]

In my current British Novel course, we've read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen and Great Expectations by Dickens. Student said his favorite so far is our current book -- North and South.

 

[Caliban]

An English teacher I liked told me she was a genius and I read quite a few of her books in my late teens. All are fun if fairly frivolous except North and South which is a ****ing masterpiece.

 

[The Bluestocking]

I've never read anything by Aphra Behn, but I came across her when I was doing research on the 17th century. What an interesting life she had! The very opposite of the sedate Mrs. Gaskell.

Aphra Behn - now that's a name I haven't heard for almost 2 decades! She was magnificent!