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Author:

Cadwallader, Jen, 1979- author.

Title:

Spirits and spirituality in Victorian fiction / Jen Cadwallader.

Publisher:

Palgrave Macmillan,

Copyright Date:

2016

Description:

209 pages ; 23 cm

Subject:

English fiction--19th century--History and criticism.
Ghost stories, English--History and criticism.
Psychological fiction, English--History and criticism.
Supernatural in literature.
Ghosts in literature.
Supernatural--History--19th century.
Literature and society--England--History--19th century.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents:

Introduction: Framing the Ghost Story -- 1. Physiology, Pharmacology, and the Ghost Stories of J.S. Le Fanu -- 2. Dickens's Ghosts and the Christmas Spirit -- 3. The Anatomy of Desire: Madness, Mesmerism, and the Specters of Female Sexuality -- 4. Mourning the Dead and the Rise of the New Faith -- Coda: Cecilia De No©±l and the Triumph of Experience.

Summary:

"Spirits and Spirituality in Victorian Fiction argues that supernatural encounters in nineteenth-century fiction show Victorians trying to achieve greater spiritual agency by adapting scientific theories to traditional Christianity. The increasing presence of ghosts across the nineteenth century - in fiction, newspaper accounts, s©♭ances, and magic shows - thus highlights a significant countercurrent to the general decline of faith during the period. Through examining ghost encounters in the fiction of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Charles Dickens, Margaret Oliphant, Rhoda Broughton, E. Nesbit, Rudyard Kipling, and others, this book demonstrates how the supernatural served as a site where a range of stances toward spirituality could be tested: from ambivalence toward both scientific and religious epistemologies to fascinating instances of spiritual evolution. Not only do fictional ghosts suggest that belief persisted despite an intellectual climate that often associated spirituality with credulity, but they also "-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

1137559926
9781137559920

OCLC:

(OCoLC)918149879

LCCN:

2015028110

Locations:

USUX851 -- Iowa State University - Parks Library (Ames)

OVUX522 -- University of Iowa Libraries (Iowa City)