This volume presents a collection of original and interconnected essays which aim to chart Elizabeth Gaskell s literary imagination by focusing on diverse aspects of her short stories. It includes the papers read at the conference on -Elizabeth Gaskell and the art of the short story-, organized by the Centre for Victorian and Edwardian Studies (CUSVE, -G. d Annunzio- University, Pescara, 2010), to celebrate the bicentenary of her birth. While offering fresh insights into Gaskell s shorter fiction, this collection provides an introduction to the many issues that absorbed her literary...