A History of Victorian Literature

by James Eli Adams

Incorporating a broad range of contemporary scholarship, A History of Victorian Literature presents an overview of the literature produced in Great Britain between 1830 and 1900, with fresh consideration of both major figures and some of the era's less familiar authors. Part of the Blackwell Histories of Literature series, the book describes the development of the Victorian literary movement and places it within its cultural, social and political context. A wide-ranging narrative overview of literature in Great Britain between 1830 and 1900, capturing the extraordinary variety of literary output produced during this eraAnalyzes the development of all literary forms during this period - the novel, poetry, drama, autobiography and critical prose - in conjunction with major developments in social and intellectual historyConsiders the ways in which writers engaged with new forms of social responsibility in their work, as Britain transformed into the world's first industrial economyOffers a fresh perspective on the work of both major figures and some of the eraâ s less familiar authorsWinner of a Choice Outstanding Academic Title award, 2009

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Nicole Meline]

Best historical overview, reads like lively narrative.

[Fran]

Read a large selection of this but generally didn't love it? I might return to it for select quotes etc etc but overall this just wasn't super useful. Adams focuses more on case studies and anecdotes than he does give comprehensive overviews of each topic, which is fine if you're super established in the field and that general background would be redundant, but it just wasn't super useful to me as someone still getting her footing. I found the meandering nature of his writing quite tiresome too; you get the sense that he expects you to read between the lines of everything he says, which is not for me as someone that prefers bluntness.