The Victorian Novel

Cambridge Contexts in Literature

AUTHOR(S):

Barbara Dennis / Adrian Barlow

REGION:

Australia & New Zealand

LEVELS:

Year 11 / Year 12

SUBJECT AREA:

English

EDITION:

1ed

ISBN:

9780521775953

PUBLICATION DATE:

15/12/2000

Price: AUD $16.95

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About the authors

When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 the novel was barely past its infancy. Fiction had existed as long as human consciousness but the novel really dates no further back than the 18th century. By the end of the century the novel was far advanced in its form and women were among the most notable contributors. Consequently, this book not only explores the development of the novel form, but examines the role of women in this development and assesses the significance of their contribution.

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Introduction

1. Approaching the Victorian novel
   The Victorian scene
   The novel and the middle class
   The industrial scene
   Religion
   The Empire
   Politics
   The analysis of society
   The intellectual novel
   Victorian twilight

2. Approaching the texts
   'A novel-reading people'
   Women novelists
   Conventions of the novel
   The author and reader
   The publisher and reader
   Parodies

3. Texts and extracts
   Thomas Carlyle from 'Sign of the Times' and from Past and Present
   Charlotte Bronte from Jane Eyre
   John Henry Newman from Loss and Gain
   Charles Dickens from David Copperfield and from Hard Times
   Anthony Trollope from Barchester Towers
   Dinah Mulock (Mrs Craik) from John Halifax, Gentlemen
   George Eliot from Adam Bede and from Felix Holt, the 'Address to Working Men'
   Anthony Trollope from The Way We Live Now
   Mrs Humphrey Ward from Robert Elsmere
   Max Beerbohm - 'The Feast' from A Christmas Garland

4. Critical approaches
   The developing debate on the novel
   The Humanist School - David Cecil and Early Victorian Novelists
   The New Criticism - F.R. Leavis and The Great Tradition
   Formalism - Dorothy Van Ghent and The English Novel
   Form and Function
   Sociological criticism - Arnold Kettle and Introduction to the English Novel
   Psychological criticism
   Feminist criticism
   Post-colonial criticism
   Other recent critical approaches
   The place of parody
   20th century writers writing back

5. How to write about the Victorian novel
   Parallel texts
   What kind of novel is it?
   Identifying the author's aims
   Plot and characterisation
   Speech
   Locale
   Interpretation and critical perspectives

6. Resources
   Alphabetical list of authors
   Chronology
   Further reading
   Glossary

Index

Critical introductions to a range of literary topics and genres.

Offering critical introductions to a range of literary topics and genres, Cambridge Contexts in Literature supports comparative and contextual study and is ideal for library reference or for building a senior module around a selected title. Each volume has been carefully planned to help students evaluate the influence of literary, cultural and historical contexts on both writers and readers, and includes an anthology of texts and extracts exemplifying key issues.

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