A New Companion to Victorian Literature and Culture

An impressive list of contributors wrote signed essays for this five-part companion which covers the literary achievements and societal changes over the long period in Great Britain known as the Victorian Age. Much of what the Western world embraces today developed over the span of the Victorian Age, including modern notions of marriage, women’s rights, retirement, child labour, sex, death, finance, industry and the arts.

Part one of this companion presents an historical focus on periods of roughly 20-25 years prior to, during and after Queen Victoria’s reign. An immediate hurdle in reading this volume is defining when the Victorian...