Victorian Afterlife: Postmodern Culture Rewrites the Nineteenth Century

by John Kucich, Dianne F. Sadoff (Contributor)

Literary Theory/Cultural Studies A foundational look at contemporary uses of the Victorian and the presence of the past in postmodern culture. Celebrated films by Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Campion, and Ang Lee; best-selling novels by A. S. Byatt and William Gibson; revivals of Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll's Alice, and nostalgic photography; computer graphics and cyberpunk contemporary culture, high and low, has fallen in love with the nineteenth century. Major critical thinkers have found in the period the origins of contemporary consumerism, sexual science, gay culture, and feminism. And postmodern theory, which once drove a wedge between contemporary interpretation and its historical objects, has lately displayed a new self-consciousness about its own appropriations of the past. This diverse collection of essays begins a long-overdue discussion of how postmodernism understands the Victorian as its historical predecessor. Nancy Armstrong, Brown U; Ian Baucom, Duke U; Jay Clayton, Vanderbilt U; Mary A. Favret, Indiana U; Simon Gikandi, U of Michigan; Jennifer Green-Lewis, George Washington U; Kali Israel, U of Michigan; Laurie Langbauer, U of North Carolina; Susan Lurie, Rice U; John McGowan, U of North Carolina; Judith Roof, Indiana U; Hilary M. Schor, USC; Ronald R. Thomas, Trinity College; and Shelton Waldrep, U of Southern Maine. John Kucich is professor of English at the University of Michigan. Dianne F. Sadoff is chair and professor of English at Miami University. Translation University of Minnesota Press

Genres: Nonfiction, Criticism, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Silvia Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the essays were less interesting than others, but there are some real gems in here. Perfect for people obsessed with the Victorian era who want to take their casual interest one step further as well as for academics.

[Jenna M · Rating 3 out of 5]

about 30% of the essays were solidly good if you were interested in the topic, 40% were so dull I struggle to recall the act of reading them, and the rest I thoroughly enjoyed.