Victorian Crime, Madness and Sensation

Victorian Crime, Madness and Sensation
Author: Andrew Maunder
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2017-03-02
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1351875922

Beginning with Victoria's enthronement and an exploration of sensationalist accounts of attacks on the Queen, and ending with the notorious case of a fin-de-siècle killer, Victorian Crime, Madness and Sensation throws new light on nineteenth-century attitudes toward crime and 'deviance'. The essays, which draw on both canonical and liminal texts, examine the Victorian fascination with criminal psychology and pathology, engaging with real life cases alongside fictional accounts by writers as diverse as Ainsworth, Stevenson, and Stoker. Among the topics are shifting definitions of criminality and the ways in which discourses surrounding crime changed during the nineteenth century, the literal and social criminalization of particular sex acts, and the gendering of degeneration and insanity. As fascinated as they were with criminality, the Victorians were equally concerned with solving crime, and this collection also focuses on the forces of law enforcement and nineteenth-century attempts to "read" the criminal body as revealed in Victorian crime fiction and reportage. Contributors engage with the detective figure and his growing professionalization, while examining the role of science and technology - both at home and in the Empire - in solving cases.

Victorian Sensation Fiction

Victorian Sensation Fiction
Author: Jessica Cox
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2019-04-25
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1137471727

Since the establishment of sensation fiction in the 1860s, key trends have emerged in critical readings of these texts. From Victorian responses emphasising the 'lowbrow' or potentially dangerous qualities of the genre to the prolific critical attention of the present day, this Reader's Guide identifies the dominant approaches to sensation fiction and charts the critical trends of various scholarly evaluations and interpretations. With coverage spanning empire, class, sexuality and adaptation, this is the ideal companion for students of Victorian Literature looking for an introduction to the key debates surrounding sensation fiction.

A Prescription for Murder

A Prescription for Murder
Author: Angus McLaren
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 252
Release: 1995-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780226560687

McLaren develops a historiographical survey on Victorian attitudes toward sexuality and morality, and their relation to violence as he describes the story of Dr. Thomas Cream. Cream murdered prostitutes and women seeking abortions in England and North America between 1877 and 1892.

Victorian Murderesses

Victorian Murderesses
Author: Mary S. Hartman
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2014-06-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 0486780473

Riveting combination of true crime and social history examines a dozen famous cases, offering illuminating details of the accused women's backgrounds, deeds, and trials. "Vividly written, meticulously researched." — Choice.

The Nineteenth-century Sensation Novel

The Nineteenth-century Sensation Novel
Author: Lyn Pykett
Publisher: Northcote House Pub Limited
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2011
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0746312121

This clearly written and wide-ranging study identifies the main features of the sensation novel, analysing its broader cultural significance as well as looking at it in its specific cultural context.

Transatlantic Sensations

Transatlantic Sensations
Author: John Cyril Barton
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2016-02-24
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1317008138

Bringing together sensation writing and transatlantic studies, this collection makes a convincing case for the symbiotic relationship between literary works on both sides of the Atlantic. Transatlantic Sensations begins with the 'prehistories' of the genre, looking at the dialogue and debate generated by the publication of sentimental and gothic fiction by William Godwin, Susanna Rowson, and Charles Brockden Brown.Thus establishing a context for the treatment of works by Louisa May Alcott, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Dion Boucicault, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, George Lippard, Charles Reade, Harriet Beecher Stowe and George Thompson, the volumetakes up a wide range of sensational topics including sexuality, slavery, criminal punishment, literary piracy, mesmerism, and the metaphors of foreign literary invasion and diseased reading. Concluding essays offer a reassessment of the realist and domestic fiction of George Eliot, Charlotte Yonge, and Thomas Hardy in the context of transatlantic sensationalism, emphasizing the evolution of the genre throughout the century and mapping a new transatlantic lineage for this immensely popular literary form. The book's final essay examines an international kidnapping case that was a journalistic sensation at the turn of the twentieth century.

Victorian Automata

Victorian Automata
Author: Suzy Anger
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2024-03-31
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 100911848X

Speaking to today's fascinations and anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence, this multidisciplinary collection is the first to examine the widespread Victorian interest in human and mechanical automata. This title is part of the Flip it Open programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

The Making of English Popular Culture

The Making of English Popular Culture
Author: John Storey
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2016-05-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317519671

The Making of English Popular Culture provides an account of the making of popular culture in the nineteenth century. While a form of what we might describe as popular culture existed before this period, John Storey has assembled a collection that demonstrates how what we now think of as popular culture first emerged as a result of the enormous changes that accompanied the industrial revolution. Particularly significant are the technological changes that made the production of new forms of culture possible and the concentration of people in urban areas that created significant audiences for this new culture. Consisting of fourteen original chapters that cover diverse topics ranging from seaside holidays and the invention of Christmas tradition, to advertising, music and popular fiction, the collection aims to enhance our understanding of the relationship between culture and power, as explored through areas such as ‘race’, ethnicity, class, sexuality and gender. It also aims to encourage within cultural studies a renewed historical sense when engaging critically with popular culture by exploring the historical conditions surrounding the existence of popular texts and practices. Written in a highly accessible style The Making of English Popular Culture is an ideal text for undergraduates studying cultural and media studies, literary studies, cultural history and visual culture.

Teaching Nineteenth-Century Fiction

Teaching Nineteenth-Century Fiction
Author: A. Maunder
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2015-12-04
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0230281265

This book brings together the experiences of Anglo-American teachers and discusses some of the challenges which face teachers of nineteenth-century fiction, suggesting practical ways in which these might start to be overcome by considering the constantly changing canon, issues related to course design and the possibilities offered by film and ICT.

A Companion to Sensation Fiction

A Companion to Sensation Fiction
Author: Pamela K. Gilbert
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 878
Release: 2011-06-20
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1444342215

This comprehensive collection offers a complete introduction to one of the most popular literary forms of the Victorian period, its key authors and works, its major themes, and its lasting legacy. Places key authors and novels in their cultural and historical context Includes studies of major topics such as race, gender, melodrama, theatre, poetry, realism in fiction, and connections to other art forms Contributions from top international scholars approach an important literary genre from a range of perspectives Offers both a pre and post-history of the genre to situate it in the larger tradition of Victorian publishing and literature Incorporates coverage of traditional research and cutting-edge contemporary scholarship