Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell ( September 29 , 1810 â `` November 12 , 1865 ) was an English writer . Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell , nÃ e Stevenson ( 29 September 1810 â `` 12 November 1865 ) , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell , was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era .