Haunting and spectrality in neo-Victorian fiction : possessing the past

"Examining works by writers including Michle Roberts, Michael Faber and A.S. Byatt, this collection highlights the pervasive presence of the Victorian past in neo-Victorian novels through the tropes of haunting and spectrality, parallelling a renewed interest in the impact of the supernatural and the occult on Victorian individuals"--Provided by publisher. Contents......Page 6 Notes on Contributors......Page 8 Introduction......Page 12 Part I: Histories and Hauntings......Page 28 1 Salley Vickers, Venice, and the Victorians......Page 30 2 Spectrality, S(p)ecularity, and Textuality: Or, Some Reflections in the Glass......Page 50 Part II: Spectral Women......Page 70 3 Repetition and Eternity: The Spectral and Textual Continuity in Michèle Roberts’s In the Red Kitchen......Page 72 4 The Maid, the Master, her Ghost and his Monster: Alias Grace and Mary Reilly......Page 85 Part III: Sensing the Past......Page 110 5 Olfactory Ghosts: Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White......Page 112 6 The Haunting of Henry James: Jealous Ghosts, Affinities, and The Others......Page 138 Part IV: Ghosts in the City......Page 158 7 Haunted Places, Haunted Spaces: The Spectral Return of Victorian London in Neo-Victorian Fiction......Page 160 8 Mapping Histories: The Golem and the Serial Killer in White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem......Page 184 Bibliography......Page 207 C......Page 219 H......Page 220 M......Page 221 R......Page 222 V......Page 223 Z......Page 224 Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 Introduction 12 Part I: Histories and Hauntings 28 1 Salley Vickers, Venice, and the Victorians 30 2 Spectrality, S(p)ecularity, and Textuality: Or, Some Reflections in the Glass 50 Part II: Spectral Women 70 3 Repetition and Eternity: The Spectral and Textual Continuity in Michèle Roberts’s In the Red Kitchen 72 4 The Maid, the Master, her Ghost and his Monster: Alias Grace and Mary Reilly 85 Part III: Sensing the Past 110 5 Olfactory Ghosts: Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White 112 6 The Haunting of Henry James: Jealous Ghosts, Affinities, and The Others 138 Part IV: Ghosts in the City 158 7 Haunted Places, Haunted Spaces: The Spectral Return of Victorian London in Neo-Victorian Fiction 160 8 Mapping Histories: The Golem and the Serial Killer in White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem 184 Bibliography 207 Index 219 A 219 B 219 C 219 D 220 E 220 F 220 G 220 H 220 I 221 J 221 K 221 L 221 M 221 N 222 O 222 P 222 Q 222 R 222 S 223 T 223 U 223 V 223 W 224 Z 224 0230205577,9780230205574 Palgrave Macmillan Machine generated contents note: ContentsNotes on contributorsPART I: HISTORIES AND HAUNTINGFiguring the Victorians: Sally Vicker's Angel F.O'GormanSpectral Possessions: or, Some Reflections in the Glass M.LlewellynPART II: SPECTRAL WOMENRepetition and Eternity: Spectral and Textual Continuity in Michle Roberts's In the Red Kitchen A.Golda-DerejczykLiberating the Neo-Victorian Maid E.SaxeyPART III: SENSING THE PAST'The Unprettified Truth': Neo-Victorian Odours in Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White S.ColellaHenry James: A Haunting P.HidalgoPART IV: CITY GHOSTSHaunted Places, Haunted Spaces: The Spectral Return of Victorian London in Neo-Victorian Fiction R.AriasThe Fine Art of Murder: [G]hosted Serial Killers in the Neo-Victorian City P.PulhamIndex. Exploring the pervasive presence of the Victorian past in contemporary culture, these essays use the trope of haunting and spectrality as a critical tool with which to consider neo-Victorian works, as well as our ongoing fascination with the Victorians, combining original readings of well-known novels with engaging analyses of lesser-known works. This volume explores the pervasive presence of the Victorian past in contemporary culture. Acknowledged as a fruitful area of research in recent critical theory, this trope provides both the organizing principle of the volume and a metaphor for contemporary re-imaginings of the Victorian past