Cambridge University Press The Victorian Supernatural: 42 (Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture, Series Number 42)

The Victorians were haunted by the supernatural, by ghosts and fairies, table-rappings and telepathic encounters, occult religions and the idea of reincarnation, visions of the other world and a reality beyond the everyday. The Victorian Supernatural explores the sources of these beliefs in their literary, historical and cultural contexts. The collection brings together essays by scholars from literature, history of art and history of science, which examine the diversity of the Victorians' fascination with the supernatural. The essays show that the supernatural was not simply a reaction to a post-Darwinian loss of faith, but was embedded in virtually every aspect of Victorian culture. This important interdisciplinary study sheds light on debates surrounding the relationship between high and popular Victorian culture and contemporary notions of the supernatural. Review '… the studies feature new approaches and/or works about which not so much has been written yet.' Annotated Bibliography for English Studies'Each of the volume's essays is well presented and finely tuned …' Modernism/Modernity' … the volume's eleven essays are, without exception, richly detailed and engaging.' Women: a Cultural Review Book Description Essays by literary scholars, art historians and science historians explore the diversity of the Victorians' fascination with the supernatural. About the Author Nicola Bown teaches Victorian literature and art at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the author of Fairies in Nineteenth-Century Art and Literature (Cambridge, 2001).Carolyn Burdett is Principal Lecturer in English at London Metropolitan University. She is the author of Olive Schreiner and the Progress of Feminism: Evolution, Gender, Empire (2000).Pamela Thurschwell is a lecturer in English at University College London, She is the author of Literature, Technology and Magical Thinking 1880-1920 (2001) and Sigmund Freud (2000).