Elizabeth and Ruth

Livi Michael is an award-winning writer of books for adults, young adults and children. Her short stories have been widely published in various places including Granta, The Lonely Crowd and the Manchester Review. Her play, Singers Not Sinners was performed in Oldham in 2022. She has taught creative writing in various universities and was Programme Leader of the MA in Publishing at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Livi Michael is superb at forcing the reader to confront uncomfortable questions about poverty and the well-meaning outsiders who seek to end it. Recreating the genesis of Gaskell’s most controversial novel, Michael explores the massive strain of a woman juggling the demands of motherhood, writing, and social campaigning in industrial Manchester. This is a powerful look at the ‘fallen’ and the ‘good’ – and the complicated, often heartbreaking reality of those trying to bridge the gap between the two.