Literary Remains - Representations of Death and Burial in Victorian England
Literary Remains explores the unexpectedly central role of death and burial in Victorian England. As Alan Ball, creator of HBO's Six Feet Under, quipped, "Once you put a dead body in the room, you can talk about anything." So, too, with the Victorians: dead bodies, especially their burial and cremation, engaged the passionate attention of leading Victorians, from sanitary reformers like Edwin Chadwick to bestselling novelists like Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, and Bram Stoker.
Men of Blood - Violence, Manliness and Criminal Justice in Victorian England
An examination of the treatment of serious violence by men against women in nineteenth-century England. During Victoria's reign the criminal law came to punish such violence more systematically and heavily, while propagating a new, more pacific ideal of manliness. Yet this apparently progressive legal development called forth strong resistance, not only from violent men themselves but, from others who drew upon discourses of democracy, humanitarianism and patriarchy to establish sympathy with 'men of blood'.
Literature and Religion in Mid-Victorian England - From Dickens to Eliot
This book places Dickens and Wilkie Collins against such important figures as John Henry Newman and George Eliot inseeking to recover their response to the religious controversies of mid-nineteenth century England. While much recent criticism has tended to overlook or dismiss their religious pronouncements, this book foregrounds the religious aspect of their writing and relocates their most important work in the context of contemporary debate. The response of both writers is seen to be complex and fraught with tension.
Hatred and Civility - The Antisocial Life in Victorian England
To understand hatred today, start with the Victorians. This book explores the depths of loathing in Victorian fiction and society, highlighting numerous cultural contradictions. It shows that the fanatics and terrorists troubling us in the 21st century have many precursors in our supposedly moral ancestors.
This book will help modern readers envision the Victorian shopping experience by taking them inside the shops and up to the counters. Readers will learn how the shop was organized, what services and goods were available, and how goods made their way from the shop to the home. Graham's compelling account provides a vivid glimpse into a vital ”but largely unappreciated” aspect of Victorian life.
