New academic territory

...so to speak.  Next spring, I'll be teaching a graduate seminar on neo-Victorian literature, which feels a bit like launching myself into space without a tether.  The actual course designation is "Contemporary British Authors," which, in practice, will be a bit awkward for the subject matter: I can certainly sneak a non-British author in there or two, but a surprising number of usual suspects won't be able to make an appearance.  This is one of those instances where delimiting a topic by nationality hinders instead of helps; however, the course fulfills a distribution requirement, so I can't dicker around with it.  Next time, I'll just bow to the inevitable and register a new course.

The more pressing difficulty, though, is that I will very likely have a room full of students who may not have read very much Victorian fiction.  Which means thinking optimistic thoughts and, yes, asking students to read at least a novel or two on top of the "real" syllabus--in all likelihood, Dickens' Great Expectations and Oliver Twist.  Of all the Victorian novelists, Dickens is the force shaping most of the "Victorian" in neo-Victorian fiction.  I've grumbled here more than once about the adjective "Dickensian" appearing on blurbs to describe novels that Dickens would never dream of writing, but "Dickensian" does tell us something about current notions of "the Victorian" in general and Dickens in particular.  This "Victorian" is usually urban, shot through with repressed and not-so-repressed sexuality, groaning under social inequalities of various sorts, and always dirty.  (Clare Clark's The Great Stink takes the dirt to new heights.)   Some of this is Dickens, and some of it is "Dickens," but it all adds up to "Dickensian"--both as a marketing strategy and as the way in which many readers and writers have come to imagine the nineteenth century.  Moreover, although some neo-Victorian novelists have imitated Wilkie Collins (e.g., Michael Cox), and others have created an entire subgenre devoted to the Bronte sisters, it remains the case that several of the best/most interesting/most readable neo-Victorian novels are extended engagements with Dickens.  Think Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, for example, or Charles Palliser's ultra-intricate The Quincunx.   

So, Dickens as the Victorian point of reference.  What about within the field itself? Here's where the real fun starts.  John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman and A. S. Byatt's Possession are, I think, unavoidable--not just because of how they treat their subject matter, but also because of their narrative forms.  (Possession didn't invent the parallel-plot historical novel, but it certainly helped it along immensely.)  But I still need a "plot" for the course.  Will it be linear? ("From Fowles to Cox.")  Divided into subtopics? (Sex! Death! Disease! Crime!) How capacious will the course be--can it encompass, say, both Byatt and George MacDonald Fraser?(I was idly thinking about teaching Flashman next to Philip Hensher's The Mulberry Empire.)  One or two neo-Victorian novels from outside the UK--and, if so, which ones? (Jack Maggs, Alias Grace,  Wanting...) Graphic novels? (It looks like Fagin the Jew is out of print; what about From Hell?)   With any luck, I'll be able to take advantage of the books on neo-Victorian fiction that are scheduled to come out before the spring semester starts.  I try not to overload students with theory, but we need to establish a common vocabulary for discussing not just neo-Victorian fiction, but also contemporary historical fiction more generally.  I've got plenty of homework for the next few months, to be sure.

Comments

[Molly]

Fascinating post! This sounds like a marvelous course and one that I would be most interesting in taking.

[Poppy]

Where were you when I was in grad school? (It was only a few years ago...) I would love to take that class! Or teach it -- you're so lucky!

I don't suppose you could require some prior familiarity with Victorian literature, or at least with Dickens? Or maybe just try to give students a flavor of Dickens by having them read an excerpt for the first class? It's hard to get the intricate-plot aspect of Dickens from an excerpt, but at least you could get some sense of his writing style. I loved reading the first few paragraphs of Bleak House with my students -- so beautiful.

PS: I first read Possession before I'd read much Victorian literature, but I was still in grad school, so I loved all of the digs about academia and being a grad student!

[George Kelley]

POSSESSION is one of the great books of the second half of the 20th Century. Are you considering any of David Lodge's books? I've found them clever.

[Citronyella]

Please keep us updated with your final choices, this subject interests me greatly and I would love to read-along to fill in the gaps. I have read many of the books so far mentioned. Have you considered The Crimson Petal and the White/Faber?

[gothess]

I teach a smiliar course at my uni (focusing on the madwoman though) as well as trying to sneak in some neo-Victorian into other courses. I'd definitely recommend 'Mary Reilly' by Valerie Martin as far as non-UK writers are concerned (I compare it with Jekyll and Hyde and Mary Reilly the movie). For me Affinity is much more interesting than Fingersmith, teaching-wise. The Crimson Petal and the White is one of my favs, although students complain about too many pages to read! (some things are the same wherever you are in the world, huh?) Also, what about a juxtaposition of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea? Or, maybe something by Peter Ackroyd? What about Poor Things by A. Grey! Yey, so many things to choose from! Keep us posted what you've decided :-)))