hear, hearOriginally Posted by Brian Bean
hear, hear
You might try "Wadsley Jack" by Reuben Hallam, circa 1881. It does have the disadvantage of being written in a Yorkshire dialect, but it gives a fascinating insight into Victorian life, especially in one of the more deprived areas of Englan. It is available on E-Bay and other places. Other than that, tedious though it may well be, dear old Dickens!!
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two very good books on victorian literature i would recommend are:
1. The Nineteenth-Century Novel: A Critical Reader by Stephan Reader (ed.)
2. A Companion to the Victorian Novel by Patrick Brantlinger
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
I would try some of the Brontes' work for sure. Their style is very modern compared to some other authors of the time, and they deal with popular themes. Jane Eyre or the Tenant of Wildfell Hall would be my first suggestion.
Lewis Carroll might be more to your liking and it doesn't hurt that work is available just about everywhere.
expectabam bona et venerunt mihi mala praestolabar lucem et eruperunt tenebrae - Job 30:26
There is a lot of Victorian literature out there so you really should not be having any problems. Also, if there is a book, there is a sparknote/pinkmonkey/whatever site you use that can give you themes/story plot or whatever. So basically go to google.com then type in "Victorian Literature" the wikipedia site that comes up will help (do not use it in your paper) it has a whole section that says "novelists" and it will give you some people to go with. I definately suggest Thackeray...but choose whoever you want.
Either, you should not be having problems. Google and a little bit of effort can help with that.
-KB
Little one, Fate might miscarry.
Little one, why do you tarry?
Little one, When May I marry you?
My little one.
Ok guys so what definitive themes do we have so far?
- Position of women in society.
- Class differences.
- Struggle of the artist.
- Industrialisation.
Any more?
The later Victorian writers were IMO very different from the early ones. I believe the Victorian novel emerged as (partially) a reaction against Romanticism, but their themes became more complicated as time went on.
One of the themes that really characterizes a Victorian novel for me is a deep skepticism (sometimes to the point of satire) of upper class values and Christianity. Also, shock value. Carlyle, Dickens, and Wilde jump to mind.
Also, I think the later Victorians started exploring the human psyche. I'm thinking of the Bronte sisters, Robert Browning's dramatic monologue poems, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Wilde's Dorian Gray.
I remember a good lecture on Dickens I once attended. The lecturer spoke about the 'terror of being de-classed' which permeates both his novels and much of Victorian literature. Those with money lived in constant fear of losing it and being cast down into the brutal, savage world of the underclass- particularly in London, which was, at the time, the largest city that had ever existed.
Last edited by WICKES; 03-25-2009 at 08:42 AM.
If you could help me out I'd be greatly appreciative - do you have any good novels/poetry that link to the sacredness of nature and how industrialism destroys it?
So far I've got some Gerald Manley Hopkins poetry, loosely Arnold's Culture and Anarchy (industrialism destroys culture), and I guess Conrad's The Secret Agent (industrialism is a breeding ground for evil).
However I really need more about the savagery of industrialism wrecking nature. Help would be loved.
How about Lord of the Rings? Tolkein shows the forest's Ents forced to leave their home because of Saruman's building of fortresses for the sake of war.However I really need more about the savagery of industrialism wrecking nature. Help would be loved.
One important thing about Victorian literature was that it was, in many ways, the final triumph of the novel over older forms. Before the Industrial Revolution, poetry was far more common than prose. Today however, prose is much more widely read, and the novel is something of a "staple" form of literature. This dominance of the novel really came into full force during the Industrial Revolution, largely thanks to a growing middle class and the printing press.
Prior to the Restoration, owning a book was unheard of amongst anyone who wasn't an aristocrat. If we factor in the cost of inflation and convert our currency, the cost of Matthew Lewis' [I]The Monk[I] would have cost the current equivalent of around USD3000. Books were unaffordable before the Victorian age, and public libraries were at best a novelty concept.
As the Victorian era rolled around and books became accessible however, the growing middle class audience began to demand literature that was accessible to them. They weren't really interested in what seemed, to them at least, to be flighty and escapist poems about lions and lambs or ancient Mariners. They greatly preferred the prose form over poetry, and publishers naturally responded.
As it became apparent which way the winds were blowing (novelists got published, poets starved) the number of novel writers began to drastically outnumber the poets. Consequently, the best and most influential literature of the Victorian era tended to be novels more often than poetry.
I find that the primary emphasis in Victorian literature is on didatic value-- particularly in Victorian fairytales, which make very interesting reading and can be read in a short amount of time.
Ah yeh, I forgot to mention it has to be Victorian haha!
Good example though thanks.
Any ideas of a Victorian example?
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