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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.
List of contents
Introduction
Victorian Responses
Genre and Form
Class Debates
Feminist Criticism
Sensational Bodies
Sexuality
Legal Issues
Science
Race, Empire, Nationhood
Adapting Sensation Fiction
Conclusion.
About the author
Jessica Cox is Lecturer in English Literature at Brunel University, UK.
Summary
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.
Additional text
Jessica Cox’s excellent Readers’ Guide to Victorian Sensation Fiction offers an intelligently structured and eminently accessible discussion of crucial aspects of these novels, from the debates engendered by contemporary reviews to the ways in which sensation fiction engaged matters of class, empire, sexuality, and the female body. The book should find its way into - and will likely become indispensable to - innumerable courses on the Victorian sensation novel.
