Frequently Cited Texts and Abbreviations Introduction: Gaskell's Eighteenth-Century Rational Dissenting Heritage Critical Heritage Key Terms Explained: Citizen of the World and Civic Sermons Family Influences Gaskell's Civic Ideas in Embryo: A Case Study of The Moorland Cottage Chapter Outline 1: 1838-1849 Apprenticeship with the Howitts Literary Building Blocks: Letters, 'Cheshire Customs' and 'Clopton Hall Entering the Howitts' Circle of Radical Activists The Howitts' European and Transatlantic Consciousness Howitt's Journal's Quest for Equality What's in a Name?: Cotton Mather Mills, Esq Contributing to Howitt's Journal: Promoting Co-operation Contributing to Sartain's Union Magazine: Wit and the Critical Voice 2: 1850-1856 Battling Patriarchal Notions Gaskell and the Woman Question Dickens's Literary Influence From 'Lizzie Leigh' to Ruth: Jobs for Women, Fallen Women and Illegitimate Children Turning the Tables: The Fallen Man in Matriarchal Society Cranford in Haworth Territory Eradicating Prejudice and Superstition: The Need for Enlightened Education A Happy Ending?: Women's Open-Ended Story 3: 1853-1856 Fighting Religious Discrimination Gaskell and Mme Mohl's Salon: Developing a European Consciousness Setting the Scene: Religious Prejudice in England F.D. Maurice's Influence on Gaskell's Work North and South and the Problem of Religious Discrimination Gaskell's Short Non-Fiction Works in Context 4: 1858-1860 Scrutinising the Dissenting Past Old and New England: Bridging the Gap with Mabel Vaughan History's Lessons: Revolution versus Moral Enlightenment Sins of the Fathers: Gaskell's Civic Lessons for America 'Curious, if True': Releasing the Past to Herald in the Future Christian Leadership Defined Misinterpreting the Past: Personal Lessons Learned 5: 1863 Fashion Versus Emancipation The Distress in Southern Lancashire, the American Civil War and Abolitionism Sylvia's Lovers and the Rights of Man 'Shams' and 'The Cage at Cranford': The Shackles of Queen Fashion 'Robert Gould Shaw': Liberating the Outcast Civic Lessons: The Culmination Conclusion Publication Details of Short Works Used in this Thesis