Description
A young woman gives a canary to a young boy with a disability, and later becomes friend to his mother. The tale follows her through three eras of her life, each linked to a holiday: St. Valentine’s Day, Whitsuntide and Michaelmas.
This short story first appeared under the pseudonym ‘Cotton Mather Mills’ in Howitt’s Journal in 1847, making it one of Elizabeth Gaskell’s first pieces of published writing. Despite moments of sentimentality, it is an excellent account of life in a working-class community in Manchester at the time. The story looks forward to some themes that Gaskell would return to: female solidarity, the value of the unmarried woman, the individuality of working class characters as well as their sense of community, and the need to find purpose in life. It also shows her familiarity with Lancashire dialect.
This edition has been produced for Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, 84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester, M13 9LW. The front cover illustration is from an edition published in 1855 by Hamilton, and is reproduced courtesy of the University of Liverpool Library [SPEC G42.60].
Celebrating the life and literature of Elizabeth Gaskell, Manchester’s most famous Victorian writer. A restored Victorian middle-class house in the heart of a UNESCO City of Literature.
House, Garden and Tea Room open every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 11am-4.30pm (last entry 3pm). Second-hand books also on sale from the House.
Pre-booking advised via the website.
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