Silent Voices: Forgotten Novels by Victorian Women Writers (Contributions in Women's Studies)

Some of the greatest English novels were written during the Victorian era, and many are still widely read and taught today. But many others written during that period have been neglected by scholars and modern readers alike. A number of these novels were written by women and were popular when published. Moreover, they reveal perspectives of 19th-century British culture not present in canonized works and therefore revise our understanding of Victorian life and attitudes. With the increasing interest in revising Victorian history and gender scholarship, especially through the rediscovery of lost texts written by women, this book is a timely and much needed study. The expert contributors to this volume argue the value of novels by such Victorian women writers as Grace Aguilar, Catherine Crowe, Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, Annie E. Holdsworth, Ella Hepworth Dixon, Flora Annie Steel, Anne Thackeray, Sarah Grand, Marie Corelli, and others. Most of the chapters address numerous works by a particular writer. Each focuses on different social issues as well, though most of them share an interest in gender politics. Topics discussed include a 19th-century Jewish novelist's navigation through Protestant spirituality, the relationship of noncanonical governess novels to class and gender issues, and forgotten works by women crime writers. Other chapters analyze how women writers impelled social reform and subverted patriarchally defined religious issues. Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Introduction......Page 14 1. "Not the Superiority of Belief, but Superiority of True Devotion": Grace Aguilar's Histories of the Spirit......Page 20 2. The Victorian Heroine Goes A-Governessing......Page 46 3. The Detective Maidservant: Catherine Crowe's Susan Hopley......Page 76 4. Deathbeds and Didacticism: Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna and Victorian Social Reform Literature......Page 86 5. Class Counts: The Domestic-Professional Writer, the Working Poor, and Middle-Class Values in The Years That the Locust Hath Eaten and The Story of a Modern Woman......Page 110 6. On the Face of the Waters: Flora Annie Steel and the Politics of Feminist Imperialism......Page 138 7. Re-reading the Domestic Novel: Anne Thackeray's The Story of Elizabeth......Page 158 8. "I Am Not Esther": Biblical Heroines and Sarah Grand's Challenge to Institutional Christianity in The Heavenly Twins......Page 174 9. Dinah Mulock Craik: Sacrifice and the Fairy-Order......Page 192 10. Marie Corelli: "The Story of One Forgotten"......Page 222 Bibliography......Page 244 C......Page 260 G......Page 261 O......Page 262 W......Page 263 Y......Page 264 About the Contributors......Page 266 Not The Superiority Of Belief, But Superiority Of True Devotion / Mirian Elizabeth Burstein -- Victorian Heroine Goes A-governessing / Cecilia Wadsö Lecaros -- Detective Maidservant / Lucy Sussex -- Deathbeds And Didacticism / Mary Lenard -- Class Counts / Sueann Schatz -- On The Face Of The Waters / Leeanne Marie Richardson -- Re-reading The Domestic Novel / Helen Debenham -- I Am Not Esther / Jennifer M. Stolpa -- Dinah Mulock Craik / Robyn Chandler -- Marie Corelli / Brenda Ayres. Edited By Brenda Ayres. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [225]-239) And Index.