Get ready for a spooky night of literature as we celebrate the early women writers who gave birth to a new genre: The Gothic. From crumbling castles and scary supernatural scenes, novelists like Ann Radcliffe (the highest paid author of the 1790s) and Charlotte Dacre broke new ground and influenced generations of writers including Jane Austen and Mary Shelley.

Amidst the eerie castles, striking landscapes and medieval settings of the Gothic, these female writers called into question male-dominated society and used the supernatural as a vehicle for the sensual.

Discover the forgotten early mothers of the Gothic including Eleanor Sleath, Eliza Parsons and Maria Regina Roche, all mentioned in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

Join Gaskell Society Chair, Dr Diane Duffy, to uncover the forgotten women of the gothic in this terrifying talk.

'Loved Dr Diane Duffy's meticulous research and lively talk' Previous attendee