b. 29 September 1810. d. 12 November 1865. Nationality: English.
Novelist, short-story novelist, and poet. Née Stevenson. Born in London. Educated
at home by her aunts and tutors, then at several boarding schools. Married Unitarian
minister William Gaskell on 30 August 1832 and moved to Manchester. Contributed to
*Sunday School Penny Magazine*, *Sartain’s Literary Magazine*, *Household Words*,
*Ladies Companion*, *Cornhill Magazine*, and *Pall Mall Gazette*. Author of several
social novels including *Mary Barton* (1848) and *North and South*(1855). Friends
with James Anthony Froude, Geraldine Jewsbury, and Charlotte Brontë. Biographical
information: *ODNB*. (AC, CC)