Gaskell, << GAS kuhl, >> Elizabeth (1810-1865), an English writer, is best known for her novel Cranford (1853). The book is a lively account of life in the village of Knutsford, where she grew up. Mrs. Gaskell also wrote two novels—Mary Barton (1848) and North and South (1855)—that show her sympathy for the working class. She created believable characters and realistic backgrounds in her books. Mrs. Gaskell was born Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson on Sept. 29, 1810, in London. She died on Nov. 12, 1865.
