Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, sometimes known as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English author, historian, and writer of short stories who lived from 29 September 1810 to 12 November 1865. Her books provide a thorough portrayal of the lifestyles of several Victorian social classes, including the extremely impoverished. Mary Barton, her debut book, was released in 1848. The earliest biography of Charlotte Bronte was Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Bront�, which was released in 1857. She decided that some of the obscener details of Bronte's life were better left unseen, therefore she only included the morally complex and moral portions of her life in this biography. Among Gaskell's most well-known books are Wives and Daughters (1864-1866), North and South (1854-1855), and Cranford (1851-1853), all of which the BBC adapted for the small screen. On September 29, 1810, Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson was born in Lindsey Row, Chelsea, London-now known as 93 Cheyne Walk. Anthony Todd Thomson was the physician who delivered her; later, Gaskell's stepmother was Catherine, Thomson's sister. Only she and her brother John made it through infancy out of the eight children she was the youngest of.