Victorian Writing about Risk: Imagining a Safe England in a Dangerous World (Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture, Series Number 28)

In Victorian Writing about Risk, first published in 2000, Elaine Freedgood explores the geography of risk produced by a wide spectrum of once-popular literature, including works on political economy, sanitary reform, balloon flight, Alpine mountaineering and African exploration. The consolations offered by this geography of risk are precariously predicated on the stability of dominant Victorian definitions of people and places. Women, men, the labouring and middle classes, the English and the Irish, Africa and Africans: all have assigned identities which allow risk to be located and contained. When identities shift and boundaries fail, danger and safety begin to appear in all the wrong places. The texts that this study focuses on reveal the ways in which risk moralizes and naturalizes the economic and political institutions of industrial, imperial culture during a period of unprecedented expansion and change. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 5 Dedication......Page 8 Title......Page 9 Copyright......Page 10 Contents......Page 11 Illustrations......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 13 Introduction: the practice of paradise......Page 15 CHAPTER ONE Banishing panic: J. R. McCulloch, Harriet Martineau and the popularization of political economy......Page 27 I.......Page 32 II.......Page 42 CHAPTER TWO The rhetoric of visible hands: Edwin Chadwick, Florence Nightingale and the popularization of sanitary reform......Page 56 I.......Page 62 II.......Page 74 CHAPTER THREE Groundless optimism: regression in the service of the ego, England and empire in Victorian ballooning memoirs......Page 88 CHAPTER FOUR The uses of pain: cultural masochism and the colonization of the future in Victorian mountaineering memoirs......Page 113 I.......Page 114 II.......Page 118 III.......Page 124 IV.......Page 133 V.......Page 136 VI.......Page 144 CHAPTER FIVE A field for enterprise: the memoirs of David Livingstone and Mary Kingsley......Page 146 I.......Page 147 II.......Page 151 III.......Page 163 IV.......Page 175 Conclusion......Page 184 INTRODUCTION: THE PRACTICE OF PARADISE......Page 187 I BANISHING PANIC: J. R. MCCULLOCH, HARRIET MARTINEAU AND THE POPULARIZATION OF POLITICAL ECONOMY......Page 188 2 THE RHETORIC OF VISIBLE HANDS: EDWIN CHADWICK, FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AND THE POPULARIZATION OF SANITARY REFORM......Page 191 3 GROUNDLESS OPTIMISM: REGRESSION IN THE SERVICE OF THE EGO, ENGLAND AND EMPIRE IN VICTORIAN BALLOONING MEMOIRS......Page 198 4 THE USES OF PAIN: CULTURAL MASOCHISM AND THE COLONIZATION OF THE FUTURE IN VICTORIAN MOUNTAINEERING MEMOIRS......Page 203 5 A FIELD FOR ENTERPRISE: THE MEMOIRS OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE AND MARY KINGSLEY......Page 208 Bibliography......Page 213 Index......Page 226 In Victorian Writing About Risk, Elaine Freedgood Explores The Geography Of Risk Produced By A Wide Spectrum Of Once-popular Literature, Including Works On Politic Economy, Sanitary Reform, Balloon Flight, Alpine Mountaineering And African Exploration. The Consolations Offered By This Geography Of Risk Are Precariously Predicated On The Stability Of Dominant Victorian Definitions Of People And Places. Women, Men, The Laboring And Middle Classes, The English And The Irish, Africa And Africans: All Have Assigned Identities That Allow Risk To Be Located And Contained. When Identities Shift And Boundaries Fail, Danger And Safety Begin To Appear In All The Wrong Places. The Texts That This Study Focuses On Reveal The Ways In Which Risk Moralizes And Naturalizes The Economic And Political Institutions Of Industrial, Imperial Culture During A Period Of Unprecedented Expansion And Change.--jacket. Introduction: The Practice Of Paradise -- 1. Banishing Panic: J.r. Mcculloch, Harriet Martineau And The Popularization Of Political Economy -- 2. The Rhetoric Of Visible Hands: Edwin Chadwick, Florence Nightingale And The Popularization Of Sanitary Reform -- 3. Groundless Optimism: Regression In The Service Of The Ego, England And Empire In Victorian Ballooning Memoirs -- 4. The Uses Of Pain: Cultural Masochism And The Colonization Of The Future In Victorian Mountaineering Memoirs -- 5. A Field For Enterprise: The Memoirs Of David Livingstone And Mary Kingsley. Elaine Freedgood. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 199-211) And Index. "In Victorian Writing about Risk, Elaine Freedgood explores the geography of risk produced by a wide spectrum of once-popular literature, including works on politic economy, sanitary reform, balloon flight, Alpine mountaineering and African exploration. The consolations offered by this geography of risk are precariously predicated on the stability of dominant Victorian definitions of people and places. Women, men, the laboring and middle classes, the English and the Irish, Africa and Africans: all have assigned identities that allow risk to be located and contained. When identities shift and boundaries fail, danger and safety begin to appear in all the wrong places. The texts that this study focuses on reveal the ways in which risk moralizes and naturalizes the economic and political institutions of industrial, imperial culture during a period of unprecedented expansion and change."--BOOK JACKET. In Victorian Writing About Risk, Elaine Freedgood explores a wide spectrum of once-popular literature, including works on political economy, sanitary reform, balloon flight, and African exploration. The consolations offered by this geography of risk are precariously predicated on the stability of dominant Victorian definitions of people and places. Women, men, the laboring and middle classes, Africa and Africans: all have assigned identities that allow risk to be located and contained. When identities shift and boundaries fail, danger and safety begin to appear in all the wrong places. In the first three decades of the nineteenth century, a number of British liberal intellectuals attempted to popularize the "laws" of classical political economy in the hope, as the statistician William Farr put it, that "knowledge [would] banish panic."