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

Neo-victorianism Is Now Widely Accepted As One Of The Most Engaging Forms Of Historical Interplay In Contemporary Culture. This Is The First Book To Offer A Thorough Examination Of Neo-victorian Fiction In The Context Of Haunting And Spectrality. 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, Which Parallel A Renewed Interest In The Impact Of The Occult And The Supernatural On Victorian Individuals. By Looking At The Encrypted Spectral Traces Of The Victorian Past In The Work Of Writers Such As Salley Vickers, Michel Faber, Valerie Martin, Micḧle Roberts, Sarah Waters, A.n. Wilson, Joyce Carol Oates, John Harwood, Jem Poster, Charles Palliser, Iain Sinclair, Peter Ackroyd, Matthew Kneale And Clare Clark, This Highly Readable Collection Advances The Increasing Critical Discussion Of Neo-victorian Literature. Salley Vickers, Venice, And The Victorians / F.o'gorman -- Spectrality, S(p)ecularity And Textuality: Or, Some Reflections In The Glass / M. Llewellyn -- Repetition And Eternity: Spectral And Textual Continuity In Michèle Roberts' In The Red Kitchen / A. Golda-derejczyk -- The Maid, The Master, His Ghost And Her Monster: Alias Grace And Mary Reilly / E. Saxey -- Olfactory Ghosts: Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal And The White / S. Colella -- The Haunting Of Henry James: Jealous Ghosts, Affinities, And The Others / A. Heilmann -- Haunted Places, Haunted Spaces: The Spectral Return Of Victorian London In Neo-victorian Fiction / R. Arias -- Mapping Histories: The Golem And The Serial Killer In White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings And Dan Leno And The Limehouse Golem / P. Pulham. Edited By Rosario Arias, Patricia Pulham. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Neo-Victorianism is now widely accepted as one of the most engaging forms of historical interplay in contemporary culture. This is the first book to offer a thorough examination of neo-Victorian fiction in the context of haunting and spectrality. 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, which parallel a renewed interest in the impact of the occult and the supernatural on Victorian individuals. By looking at the encrypted spectral traces of the Victorian past in the work of writers such as Salley Vickers, Michel Faber, Valerie Martin, Michl̈e Roberts, Sarah Waters, A.N. Wilson, Joyce Carol Oates, John Harwood, Jem Poster, Charles Palliser, Iain Sinclair, Peter Ackroyd, Matthew Kneale and Clare Clark, this highly readable collection advances the increasing critical discussion of neo-Victorian literature--Résumé de l'éditeur Front Matter....Pages i-xxvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Salley Vickers, Venice, and the Victorians....Pages 3-22 Spectrality, S(p)ecularity, and Textuality: Or, Some Reflections in the Glass....Pages 23-42 Front Matter....Pages 43-43 Repetition and Eternity: The Spectral and Textual Continuity in Michèle Roberts’s In the Red Kitchen....Pages 45-57 The Maid, the Master, her Ghost and his Monster: Alias Grace and Mary Reilly....Pages 58-82 Front Matter....Pages 83-83 Olfactory Ghosts: Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White....Pages 85-110 The Haunting of Henry James: Jealous Ghosts, Affinities, and The Others....Pages 111-130 Front Matter....Pages 131-131 Haunted Places, Haunted Spaces: The Spectral Return of Victorian London in Neo-Victorian Fiction....Pages 133-156 Mapping Histories: The Golem and the Serial Killer in White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem....Pages 157-179 Back Matter....Pages 180-197 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.