Being in the centre of Manchester for the first time in months, I thought I’d drop in to the beautiful Victorian neo-Gothic John Rylands Library and see the Darkness and Light: Exploring the Gothic exhibition. It’s very, very good, with some fabulous first editions of Gothic novels on display, exhibits illustrating Gothic architecture, anatomical plates, photos of Goth people, and work with a Gothic aesthetic from art students at the University of Salford–definitely recommended. Well done, Xavier Aldana Reyes and Linnie Blake from MMU (on first and second wave Gothic literature); Dale Townshend and Rosie Garland who curated the Architecture and Women and the Gothic cases; Peter Linfield, Rachel Fairburn, Gwen Riley Jones, Jill Randall and her students from Salford; and Liza Leonard, the Rylands curator. The exhibition honours diversity and the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. The exhibition is on till 20 December 2015.
This is a phenomenal library!