BleakChesneyWold

                                             Industrial  'social' novel from 1855                                       Introduction                               The Elizabeth Gaskell Society was established in 1985. During  the 2000's several of Mrs Gaskell's novels were televised.  North and South ,  Wives and   Daughters  and  Cranford  (which were three stories effectively rammed together). In 2014 the Manchester Historic Buildings Trust helped finance the opening of the Elizabeth Gaskell House at 84 Plymouth Road to the public, Mrs Gaskell's home from 1850- 1865. Now operates as a museum devoted to her work.  Mrs Gaskell wrote some several novels and a...

                                          Lake Geneva 10th September 1898  Empress Elisabeth ('Sisi'), was  empress of Austria from 1854 after marrying emperor Franz Joseph of the House of Habsburg whilst aged sixteen. Sisi was also crowned queen of Hungary in 1867,when the dual monarchy of Austria - Hungary was established.  In 1854 the Austrian empire was ten times the size of the modern-day EU member state. The largest country in Europe after Russia, its territory included Hungary,Slovenia, Croatia, Bohemia and Moravia, along with parts of what are now Italy, Roumania, Poland, and the Ukraine. Austria lost Lombardy in 1859 and Venetia in 1866 to the new united kingdom of Italy, but gained control of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878.  As a Bavarian princess ,the early life of Sisi was unconventional and quite carefree. Her royal pedigree was via her mother's side....