The Power of Lies: Transgression, Class, and Gender in Victorian Fiction

by John Kucich

Although moral earnestness has long been considered characteristic of the Victorians, Kucich maintains that English fiction in the nineteenth century was as interested in lies as in honesty. In this important book, Kucich explores the fascination with lying in novels by Anthony Trollope, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, Ellen Wood, Thomas Hardy, and Sarah Grand.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 1994