Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture Séria

This new, wide-ranging framework for understanding Victorian settler colonialism reveals the energetic circulation of literary forms between Australia, New Zealand and Britain. Analysis of both literary and economic texts gives students an essential grounding in the historical and political context of empire that shaped the Victorian novel.

This study situates George Eliot's life and work within the contexts of mid- nineteenth-century British colonialism and imperialism.

Original study of narrative technique in Victorian fiction from Charlotte Bronte to H. G. Wells.

Focusing on the cultural significance of memento mori in nineteenth-century Britain, this study delves into the fascination with preserving objects associated with the deceased. It examines how these practices reflect societal attitudes toward death, memory, and mourning, revealing the emotional and historical context behind this unique tradition. Through a blend of literary analysis and cultural commentary, the book offers insights into the ways people engaged with loss and remembrance during this period.

Anna Feuerstein offers innovative readings of the politics of animal characters in the Victorian novel, and shows the limitations of liberalism as a framework for animal rights. This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in Victorian literature and culture, and the representation of animals in literature.

Exploring the evolution of the literary profession during the Victorian era, this study delves into how authorship was depicted in both literature and visual art. It provides insights into the cultural and societal factors that shaped the perception of writers, highlighting the interplay between their public personas and private lives. Through a detailed analysis, the book reveals the complexities of being an author in a rapidly changing world, making it a significant contribution to the understanding of literary history and representation.

The book explores the Victorian era's obsession with failed Northwest Passage expeditions and its impact on contemporary perceptions of Arctic and Polar exploration. It delves into how these historical narratives have shaped modern interpretations and understandings of the challenges and significance of exploring these remote regions. Through this lens, the study reveals the lasting influence of past expeditions on current Arctic discourse.

Focusing on the Victorian era, the book delves into the intricate dynamics of interpersonal thought and influence. It examines how writers of the time grappled with the implications of one individual's thoughts about another, highlighting the psychological and social complexities involved. Through various literary examples, the exploration reveals the tension between personal perception and societal norms, offering insights into the era's cultural preoccupations.

Richard Menke links media innovation to imaginative literature, making the case for writers from Whitman to Twain, Kipling to Bram Stoker and Marie Corelli as the era's media theorists. This book will appeal to scholars, students and researchers of nineteenth-century literature and culture, the history of printing, and media and technology.

Challenging the notion of Charlotte Bronte as an isolated figure, this study situates her work within the rich context of Victorian psychological discourse. Sally Shuttleworth utilizes extensive local research, including newspaper articles and medical texts, to examine the interplay of economic, social, and psychological themes in the 19th century. The analysis delves into how Bronte's fiction responds to the era's complex views on sexuality and insanity, highlighting the influence of medical and psychological surveillance on her writing.

Explores the notion of plagiarism in Victorian fiction and how many writers of this period stole, altered or parodied the characters and plots of previous texts. This book will appeal to students and researchers of nineteenth-century literature and culture, and readers interested in issues of plagiarism, copyright, and intellectual property.

Exploring a range of Victorian literature, the book delves into themes of risk as portrayed in political economy, sanitary reform, and exploration. It examines how Victorian society's definitions of identity—pertaining to gender, class, and geography—create a framework for understanding risk. Freedgood argues that when these identities and boundaries become unstable, perceptions of danger and safety become distorted, revealing the precarious nature of societal constructs.

The radical press of the Victorian era fostered daring literary experiments that helped shape mainstream literature. This book adds significantly to the study of Victorian literary culture by exploring the interplay between canonical social problem novels and journalism and fiction appearing in the periodical press associated with working-class protest.

Exploring the formative influence of Marian Evans's early work in periodical journalism, this study reveals how her experiences shaped her later achievements as a novelist. It delves into the skills and insights gained during her time in the press, highlighting the connection between her journalistic endeavors and her literary success. Through a critical analysis, the book offers a fresh perspective on Evans's development as a writer and the broader implications for understanding her contributions to literature.

Focusing on the exploration of human will, this book delves into the poetry of notable authors such as Tennyson, Browning, Hopkins, and Hardy. It examines how each poet articulates the complexities of human desire, choice, and agency within their works, offering insights into the philosophical and emotional underpinnings of their poetry. Through a detailed analysis, it highlights the unique perspectives and themes each poet brings to the concept of will, enriching the understanding of their literary contributions.

Exploring the convergence of literary culture, the occult, and emerging technologies during the fin-de-siecle, this study delves into how these elements influenced each other. It examines the unique ways in which writers and thinkers engaged with mystical practices and technological advancements, shedding light on the cultural anxieties and innovations of the era. Through this lens, the book reveals the complex interplay between art, spirituality, and modernity at a pivotal moment in history.

A study of Oscar Wilde's Hellenism and the influence it had on his life and works. It offers new perspectives on The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest and delivers an insight into the source of Wilde's inspirations and the intellectual currents that shaped him.

Throwing new light on how Victorians conceptualized identity, deception, originality and the relations between sciences and the arts, Mimicry and Display in Victorian Literary Culture offers fresh angles on canonical authors and texts. It will appeal to scholars and students of literature and history, and general readers interested in cultural history and history of science.

Exploring the cultural history of the honeymoon during the Victorian era, this book delves into personal narratives and fictional representations that shaped societal views on marriage and romance. It highlights how these experiences influenced broader cultural norms and expectations surrounding love and intimacy, offering insights into the evolving dynamics of relationships in a transformative period. Through a rich tapestry of accounts, it uncovers the significance of the honeymoon in both personal and societal contexts.

Exploring the intersection of bodily experience and poetic expression, this study delves into the nineteenth-century tradition that perceives the body as a vital medium for poetry. It examines how physicality influences artistic creation and the ways in which poets have engaged with themes of reproduction and embodiment in their work. Through this lens, the book offers insights into the cultural and philosophical implications of viewing the body as integral to the poetic process.

Will Abberley explores how Victorian fiction and science imagined the evolution of language, providing a new, historical angle on current debates about language evolution and the language of science. Abberley offers fresh perspectives on authors including Thomas Hardy and H. G. Wells, and genres including utopian, historical and science fiction.

The hands of colonized subjects were vital sites of fascination and interpretation in late-Victorian imperial narratives. The book considers accounts of fingerprinting, amputation, disease, manual labor, and mummification as central examples of the racial significance assigned to hands around the fin de siecle.

The first book to study the rise of Victorian autobiography as a marketplace phenomenon rather than a vehicle for constructing identity, and to relate life-writing to broader cultural impulses to imagine identity as a textual thing. It will particularly appeal to scholars of nineteenth-century literature, book history and material culture.

Jan-Melissa Schramm explores the conflicted attitude of the Victorian novel to sacrifice and the act of substitution on which it depends. The Christian idea of redemption celebrated the suffering of the innocent: to embrace a life of metaphorical self-sacrifice was to follow in the footsteps of Christ's literal Passion. Moreover, the ethical agenda of fiction relied on the expansion of sympathy which imaginative substitution was seen to encourage. But Victorian criminal law sought to calibrate punishment and culpability as it repudiated archaic models of sacrifice that scapegoated the innocent. The tension between these models is registered creatively in the fiction of novelists such as Dickens, Gaskell and Eliot, at a time when acts of Chartist protest, national sacrifices made during the Crimean War, and the extension of the franchise combined to call into question what it means for one man to 'stand for' and perhaps even 'die for', another.