MACMILLAN The Figure of Christ in the Long Nineteenth Century (Palgrave Studies in Nineteenth-Century Writing and Culture)

This book is an interdisciplinary collection of essays that explores the variety of ways in which the interface between understanding the figure of Christ, the place of the cross, and the contours of lived experience, was articulated through the long nineteenth century. Collectively, the chapters respond to the theological turn in postmodern thought by asking vital questions about the way in which representations of Christ shape understandings of personhood and of the divine. From the Back Cover “In this beautifully constructed and consistently stimulating volume, Elizabeth Ludlow and her contributors do a wonderful job of explaining why Christ was such an important figure in nineteenth-century thought. The collection is marked by its rich discussion, cohesive lines of argument, and interdisciplinary range.” ―Mark Knight, Professor, Lancaster University, UK “The Figure of Christ in the Long Nineteenth Century is a fascinating volume that fills a gap in nineteenth-century scholarship, and restores to us a sense of how central, how vigorous, and at the same time how contested, the portrayal of Christ was in this period. From the apocalyptic and visionary writing and art of Blake, to the vivid re-imaginings of novelists and children’s writers, from the poetry and art of central and established figures like Tennyson and Holman Hunt, to the radical re-appraisals of the Chartist poets, these studies show how the imaginative portrayal of Christ became a powerful way of expressing and symbolising the great themes and controversies of this period. Elizabeth Ludlow has done a fine job in selecting and editing these essays and her own work in the field also makes a strong contribution to this volume.” ― Malcolm Guite, Chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge, UK and author, poet and singer-songwriter This book is an interdisciplinary collection of essays that explores the variety of ways in which the interface between understanding the figure of Christ, theplace of the cross, and the contours of lived experience, was articulated through the long nineteenth century. Collectively, the chapters respond to the theological turn in postmodern thought by asking vital questions about the way in which representations of Christ shape understandings of personhood and of the divine. About the Author Elizabeth Ludlow is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Anglia Ruskin University, UK. She is the author of Christina Rossetti and the Bible: Waiting with the Saints (2014) and a number of journal articles. She is currently working on a monograph entitled Prayer and the Body in Nineteenth-Century Women’s Writing and a project on nineteenth-century representations of Early Church women.