Classical Victorians: Scholars, Scoundrels and Generals in Pursuit of Antiquity (Classics after Antiquity)

Victorian Britain Set Out To Make The Ancient World Its Own. This Is The Story Of How It Failed. It Is The Story Of The Headmaster Who Bludgeoned His Wife To Death, Then Calmly Sat Down To His Latin. It Is The Story Of The Embittered Classical Prodigy Who Turned To Gin And Opium - And The Virtuoso Forger Who Fooled The Greatest Scholars Of The Age. It Is A History Of Hope: A General Who Longed To Be An Homeric Hero, A Bankrupt Poet Who Longed To Start A Revolution. Victorian Classicism Was Defined By Hope - But Shaped By Uncertainty. Packed With Forgotten Characters And Texts, With The Roar Of The Burlesque-stage And The Mud Of The Battlefield, This Book Offers A Rich Insight Into Nineteenth-century Culture And Society. It Explores Just How Difficult It Is To Stake A Claim On The Past-- Victorian Britain Set Out To Make The Ancient World Its Own. This Is The Story Of How It Failed. It Is The Story Of The Headmaster Who Bludgeoned His Wife To Death, Then Calmly Sat Down To His Latin. It Is The Story Of The Embittered Classical Prodigy Who Turned To Gin And Opium - And The Virtuoso Forger Who Fooled The Greatest Scholars Of The Age. It Is A History Of Hope: A General Who Longed To Be An Homeric Hero, A Bankrupt Poet Who Longed To Start A Revolution-- Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Introduction: The Resurrection Men; 2. Old-fashioned Ambition (a Victorian Seduction); 3. In Search Of An Empire Of Memory; 4. The Children Of Babel; Appendices. Edmund Richardson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Contents Illustrations Series editors’ preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction: the resurrection men Chapter 2 Old-fashioned ambition (a Victorian seduction) The silver key The bishop’s palace The hungry professor The Stockwell murderer A most respectable pursuit Jude’s credo Chapter 3 In search of an empire of memory Haunted ground The use of the dead to the living Becoming Greek The volunteers The return Without a strain The heroes of Troy The revolutionary Tilting at windmills Coming home Chapter 4 The children of Babel The subject of this memoir The edges of scholarship The curious Mr Simonides Are you laughing now? The voice from the wilderness The life of the scholar The cultivation of chaos The unbroken line Forget-me-not Appendix A Anglican bishops in office in 1800 and 1865 1800: bishops born into the elite 1865: bishops born into the elite 1800: bishops who advanced through patronage 1865: bishops who advanced through patronage 1800: bishop who gained advancement from theological writings 1865: bishops who gained advancement from theological writings 1800: bishop who gained advancement from classical learning 1865: bishops who gained advancement from classical learning Appendix B Students awarded Exhibitions at Balliol College, Oxford between 1870 and 1879 Social stability: Exhibitioners born into – and with careers within – the elite, or the higher professional classes Downward mobility: Exhbitioner born into the elite or the higher professional classes, but with middle-class careers Social stability: Exhibitioners born into less distinguished backgrounds, with middle-class careers Upward mobility: Exhibitioners born into less distinguished backgrounds, with distinguished academic careers Upward mobility:Exhibitioners born to less distinguished backgrounds, with careers which took them into the elite, or the higher professional classes Appendix C Anglican archdeacons in office in 1840 1840: archdeacons born into high-ranking church families: social stability 1840: archdeacons born into the elite, or the higher professional classes: social stability 1840: archdeacons who engineered themselves into the elite: Upward mobility 1840: archdeacons who advanced through their theological writings: upward mobility 1840: archdeacons who advanced through non-theological academic work: upward mobility Bibliography Index "Victorian Britain set out to make the ancient world its own. This is the story of how it failed. It is the story of the headmaster who bludgeoned his wife to death, then calmly sat down to his Latin. It is the story of the embittered classical prodigy who turned to gin and opium - and the virtuoso forger who fooled the greatest scholars of the age. It is a history of hope: a general who longed to be an Homeric hero, a bankrupt poet who longed to start a revolution. Victorian classicism was defined by hope - but shaped by uncertainty. Packed with forgotten characters and texts, with the roar of the burlesque-stage and the mud of the battlefield, this book offers a rich insight into nineteenth-century culture and society. It explores just how difficult it is to stake a claim on the past"-- Provided by publisher This is a compelling account of Victorian Britain's troubled relationship with antiquity. Extraordinary characters - the virtuoso forger, the blundering general and the bitter prodigy - will engage scholars and general readers alike. This wide-ranging narrative breaks new ground in the fast-growing field of classical reception studies.