"This fine collection of essays, timed perfectly to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Gaskell’s death, will reach a broad audience from undergraduates to post-graduate researchers." - Deirdre d'Albertis, Bard College, USA, author of Dissembling Fictions: Elizabeth Gaskell and the Victorian Social Text"Overall, this is an excellent collection which succeeds in viewing Gaskell apart from the ‘purely parochial construction of place’ that has historically dominated her critical reception (p. 3). It will be of great interest and usefulness to the increasing number of scholars who are drawn to the riches of Gaskell’s writings." - Jude Piesse, Liverpool John Moores University, UK