Elizabeth Gaskell authored six novels, two novellas, numerous articles, short stories, and an acclaimed biography of her friend Charlotte Brontë.

Her most famous novel Cranford famously depicts life in Knutsford, Cheshire where she grew up, and was adapted into two BBC drama series.

The exhibition features highlights from the Library’s world renowned collections including unpublished personal correspondence – on display to the public for the first time.

Other items, generously loaned by Gaskell’s descendants and a Gaskell archivist include her passport, prayer book, a teapot and other personal memorabilia.

Sarah Prince, great great great granddaughter of Gaskell, will officially open the exhibition and there will also be contributions from actor Lesley Manville, who appeared in BBC adaptations of North and South and Cranford.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a full programme of public events – including:

• Community singing led by the Grace Darling Singers and Manchester Balladeers Mark Dowding and Chris Harvey Pollington.
• Talks on the fashions of the time by The History Wardrobe.
• A series of public lectures by leading Gaskell scholars including Jenny Uglow and Pamela Corpron-Parker, curator tours of the exhibition and family fun days.

Public Programmes Manager Jacqui Fortnum said: “This exhibition, which marks the bicentenary of her birth, draws on the Library’s world-class Gaskell collections to explore her place in these diverse communities.

“It looks at how her social networks influenced her fiction and the worlds she depicted in her books.

“It also considers the worldwide community of readers past and present who have found enjoyment in Gaskell’s work.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS
Elizabeth Gaskell: A Connected Life will run from 14 July to 28 November 2010 at The Christie Gallery – The John Rylands Library.

The launch will take place from 6 to 8pm  on Wednesday, 14 July.

The John Rylands University Library is open to the public free of charge. Opening times: Mon 12.00-5.00, Tues-Sat 10.00-5.00, Sun 12.00-5.00.

The  exhibition celebrates Gaskell’s bi-centennial, and draws upon the Library’s extensive and unique collections of Gaskell material in addition to personal items which have been generously loaned by Rosemary Dabbs, Sarah Prince, Heather Sharps and the Brotherton Library, The University of Leeds

Heather Sharps is the widow of John Geoffrey Sharps, the Gaskell scholar whose collections are now part of the Library’s archive.

The BBC has ordered a fourth season of its period drama Lark Rise to Candleford which stars Julia Sawalha, Olivia Hallinan and Linda Bassett. The news that a fourth season of the drama, based on the series of books by Flora Thompson, was confirmed on BBC One’s rural magazine programme Countryfile last night.

With the BBC making cuts to it’s period output.  Will we ever see a Series 4?

Rumours say it will be only 6 episodes, but we don’t know if even that is certain.

Do you know anything? Should they quit on a high?

Any ideas what they should have in the next series, apart from Alf’s Wedding?

The railway has arrived in Inglestone and, with it, the unsettling news that the post office there is to become the main sorting office for the area, as the latest series of the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novel comes to an end. Mr Blakestone, the Inglestone postmaster, has long held a grudge against Dorcas, and she fears he may use his new power to undermine her.

Meanwhile, Fisher Bloom has admitted to Daniel that he aims to win Laura back. Laura is confused by her feelings. She loves Daniel, but his apparent ambivalence towards her leads her to question their relationship, and Fisher’s romantic pursuit is beginning to have an effect.

Dorcas invites Blakestone to tea to try to restore good relations, but the postmaster sends Fisher in his place with an ultimatum – sell her post office to Blakestone and the staff will keep their jobs; or he will starve her business by sending mail out directly from Inglestone. Faced with the prospect of her staff losing their positions, Dorcas feels she has no choice but to sell up, even if it means denying Sydney his dream of being postmaster one day. However, when Thomas, Laura and Minnie learn what she is planning, they urge her to resist Blakestone’s blackmail and find a way to fight him.

Daniel is heartbroken at the thought of losing Laura, so finds a distraction in mounting a campaign to help Dorcas. In this, he and Laura have a common cause. As she watches Daniel rallying support in Lark Rise to save the post office, she finds his passion for the cause intoxicating, and realises that she still has strong feelings for him. Fisher may be able to sweep her off her feet with romantic words, but she finally understands that this kind of youthful infatuation is fleeting, and that her love for Daniel is made of deeper, longer-lasting stuff.

Buoyed up by the support of her friends and neighbours, Dorcas comes up with an ingenious plan to outwit Blakestone. However, will she succeed in saving the post office, and will a very important visitor be her saviour?

Dorcas is played by Julia Sawalha, Fisher Bloom by Matthew McNulty, Daniel by Ben Aldridge, Laura by Olivia Hallinan, Sydney by Edward Darnell-Hayes, Thomas by Mark Heap and Minnie by Ruby Bentall.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Mischief Night is approaching, when the residents of Lark Rise and Candleford play tricks on their neighbours under cover of darkness, as the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novel continues. Laura, however, is in no mood for silly pranks – Fisher Bloom has returned and it has thrown her feelings for Daniel into confusion.

Pearl, too, is unsettled by Fisher’s return. She is fond of Daniel and doesn’t want to see him hurt. So she is horrified when she hears that Daniel has befriended Fisher – unaware of his history with Laura – and convinced him to stay in Candleford to fix his newspaper printing press.

When Laura confesses to Daniel her past relationship with Fisher, he takes it well, but it quickly becomes clear that, for all her protestations, Laura still has feelings for Fisher and Daniel has a rival for her affections.

Dorcas, meanwhile, is excitedly planning a Mischief Night trick on Pearl, but Fisher has news which threatens to cast a shadow over her fun. While working on the new station clock at neighbouring Inglestone, he has heard of possible changes to the postal service in the area – which could spell trouble for the Candleford Post Office. Dorcas is determined not to let it ruin her evening, but the news worries her, nonetheless.

Over in Lark Rise, Alf and Edmund have heard about Fisher’s return. Protective of Laura’s feelings, and suspicious of Fisher’s motives, they hatch a Mischief Night plan to try to make him leave town. Pearl also has a trick up her sleeve, designed to convince Fisher that all hopes of romance with Laura are futile. But their efforts have the opposite effect on Fisher. They all try a bit too hard to convince him of Laura’s love for Daniel, and it makes him believe he must still have a chance with her.

As the locals dart about playing Mischief Night pranks on each other, Fisher notices the Candleford clock has stopped and can’t resist going to the clock tower to investigate. Laura, too, is drawn to the clock tower and, when she and Fisher meet, the atmosphere of Mischief Night works its magic. They talk about old times and dance. Laura is swept up in Fisher’s romantic words, but reality and guilt soon hit her – she remembers how Fisher hurt her in the past and how she now feels about Daniel. She runs off, but the damage is done. Daniel has seen her go into the clock tower and knows she has gone there to see Fisher. He stopped the clock to see what she would do and she has failed the test. Has he lost Laura for ever?

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

When the local Lark Rise gossip, Mrs Mullins, discovers her daughter, Emily, is pregnant, she jumps to the conclusion that Daniel is the father.

Everyone rallies round to defend Daniel, even Robert and Emma, refusing to believe Mrs Mullins’s accusations. Laura, too, is supportive and pleads with Emily to reveal the true identity of her baby’s father. But Emily seems determined to keep the truth to herself, despite it fuelling the gossip about Daniel. Daniel is heartened by Laura’s faith in him but, when she receives a mysterious letter, Laura becomes pre-occupied and distant, and he wonders if she has begun to doubt him.

Meanwhile, at the post office, Dorcas is handing out bonuses to her staff. Minnie is delighted by her windfall and decides to offer the money to Alf, believing it will help to relieve his burdens. Instead, he angrily refuses her offer, his pride hurt. Later he wonders at the intensity of his reaction.

Mrs Mullins is telling anyone who will listen that Daniel is the baby’s father, and when he starts to behave suspiciously and is seen giving money to Emily in the newspaper office at night, even Dorcas starts to wonder if Daniel may indeed have a charge to answer. When she sees a telegram to Emily’s wealthy employers, confirming travel arrangements for their son, she goes to see Emily, who confirms her suspicions that Master Raymond is the father.

Despite Dorcas’s efforts to persuade Emily to tell her mother the truth, she is still scared of what her reaction will be. Mrs Mullins is furious at Dorcas’s interference, and when she finds Emily in possession of a large sum of money, she assumes it has come from her. When Dorcas denies it and points out the most likely source, Mrs Mullins finally realises her mistake about the identity of the baby’s father. With Queenie’s help, Emily at last finds the courage to explain the whole story to her mother – that she had hopes of Master Raymond marrying her, and had used Daniel as a go-between.

After a public apology from Mrs Mullins, Daniel’s reputation is restored in Candleford, but Laura is still acting strangely. When Dorcas questions her, she reveals that the letter she has received is from her former love, Fisher Bloom. He is writing with the news that he is returning and it has shaken Laura to the core.

Daniel is played by Ben Aldridge, Robert by Brendan Coyle, Emma by Claudie Blakley, Laura by Olivia Hallinan, Dorcas by Julia Sawalha, Minnie by Ruby Bentall and Alf by John Dagleish.

When the Lark Rise school loses its teacher, Emma steps in and discovers a talent she never knew she had, as the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novel continues. But Margaret, too, feels she is perfectly suited to the role, and an unexpected rivalry springs up. For Margaret, teaching offers a much-needed distraction from the heartbreak of remaining childless; while for Emma it is the chance to feel valued for something other than being a wife and mother.

Over in Candleford, Dorcas and Thomas are also at odds. Thomas is agitating about his working conditions but, when Dorcas won’t take his grievances seriously, he decides to start a union: The Candleford Post Office Letter Carriers Association, or CaPOLCA. Laura and Minnie are reluctant to join, but Thomas becomes increasingly militant, and relations between him and Dorcas go rapidly downhill.

Meanwhile, Minnie is on a mission to make herself beautiful so that Alf will notice her, and enlists the help of Laura and Dorcas to transform her. But Minnie’s new-found femininity suffers a blow when she falls over and gets a black eye. How can she face Alf now?

Despite the misgivings of their husbands, neither Margaret nor Emma will back down, so they are forced to share the role of schoolteacher. But, before long, they have set themselves up in competition with each other in their preparations for the school bazaar, with Emma heading up the boys’ team, and Margaret the girls’. Secretly, they both hope that if they perform their tasks well, it will be an opportunity to impress the school governors and further their teaching ambitions.

When Dorcas’s dispute with Thomas reaches childish proportions, she turns to Robert to arbitrate a solution. Robert’s intervention builds a bridge between them, and Thomas reveals the underlying reason for his dissatisfaction at work: his struggle to come to terms with Margaret’s apparent willingness to accept their childlessness and embrace a life dominated by work.

The day of the school bazaar arrives, but which team will win the school prize and what will it mean for Margaret and Emma’s future plans?

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Fourth series of Lark Rise has been commissioned according to posting at: www.johnowensmith.co.uk/flora/

It says: Fourth Series — six episodes commissioned to be filmed May/June 2010 for transmission in 2011 [source Bill Gallagher]

Does anyone know any more?

Pearl (Matilda Ziegler) learns some difficult lessons

Pearl is in a state of panic, as the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novels continues. She’s received a dressmaking commission from Lady Whiteleaf which could save her ailing business, but without Ruby there is no way she can do the work in time. That is, until Enid, a seamstress looking for a position, arrives in Candleford. Her needlework is exquisite and Pearl’s prayers seem to have been answered.

In the post office, Dorcas is excitedly showing off her brand-new, state-of-the-art kitchen range, with which she plans to cook a sumptuous Michaelmas feast. But when the range keeps mysteriously breaking down, Dorcas loses her customary cool. She becomes determined to master its secrets if it’s the last thing she does.

As Pearl and Enid work, the two women forge a touching friendship. Pearl feels free to be herself with Enid and share confidences about her life, while Enid is in awe of Pearl’s independence and strength of character. Enid seems completely at home in Candleford, a place where she feels women can be their own masters. But Dorcas is troubled by the speed of Pearl’s attachment to her new friend, and worries that all is not what it seems with Enid.

When the first part of Enid and Pearl’s dressmaking commission meets with the approval of Lady Whiteleaf and they are invited for dinner, Pearl is euphoric. They excitedly plan their outfits, but Pearl’s joy turns to shock and outrage when Enid turns up wearing trousers! Enid tries to recruit Pearl to her cause – to free women from the confines of their restrictive clothing – but a mortified Pearl throws her out of the shop.

When Pearl discovers that Enid is, in fact, a runaway wife and that her husband is offering a reward for her return, her sense of betrayal and humiliation is complete. Enid tells the women of Candleford the story of her stifling marriage and thwarted ambitions, while Pearl storms off to Inglestone to inform Enid’s husband of her whereabouts.

But when Pearl encounters Thomas, Daniel and Sydney on the road, she pauses to reflect on her actions, and begins to regret her rejection of Enid. Just then, the seamstress herself turns up and tells Pearl a few home truths about her behaviour, and how it isolates her from her neighbours. But will Pearl be able to forgive Enid, and learn how to be a true friend?

Matilda Ziegler plays Pearl, Hattie Morahan plays Enid, Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas, Mark Heap plays Thomas, Ben Aldridge plays Daniel and Edward Darnell-Hayes plays Sydney.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.