Elizabeth Gaskell

Who was Elizabeth Gaskell?

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson, often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature. Gaskell was also the first to write a biography of Charlotte Bronte, The Life of Charlotte Bronte, which was published in 1857.

Famous Quotes:

• Madam your wife and I didn't hit it off the only time I ever saw her. I won't say she was silly, but I think one of us was silly, and it wasn't me.
• To be sure a stepmother to a girl is a different thing to a second wife to a man!
• Sometimes one likes foolish people for their folly, better than wise people for their wisdom.
• How easy it is to judge rightly after one sees what evil comes from judging wrongly!
• I'll not listen to reason. Reason always means what someone else has got to say.
• 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.
• A wise parent humors the desire for independent action, so as to become the friend and advisor when his absolute rule shall cease.
• My heart burnt within me with indignation and grief; we could think of nothing else. All night long we had only snatches of sleep, waking up perpetually to the sense of a great shock and grief. Every one is feeling the same. I never knew so universal a feeling.
• A little credulity helps one on through life very smoothly.
• He had not an ounce of superfluous flesh on his bones, and leanness goes a great way towards gentility.