Victorian Literature and Postcolonial Studies

This book surveys the impact of the British Empire on nineteenth-century British literature from a postcolonial perspective. It explains both pro-imperialist themes and attitudes in works by major Victorian authors, and also points of resistance to and criticisms of the Empire such as abolitionism, as well as the first stirrings of nationalism in India and elsewhere. Using nineteenth-century literary works as illustrations, it analyzes several major debates, central to imperial and postcolonial studies, about imperial historiography and Marxism, gender and race, Orientalism, mimicry, and subalternity and representation. And it provides an in-depth examination of works by several major Victorian authors-Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Disraeli, Tennyson, Yeats, Kipling, and Conrad among them – in the imperial context. Key Features: *Links literary texts to debates in postcolonial studies *Discusses works not included in standard literary histories *Provides in-depth discussions and comparisons of major authors: Disraeli and George Eliot; Dickens and Charlotte Bronte; Tennsyon and Yeats *Provides a guide to further reading and a timeline

Reviews of Victorian Literature and Postcolonial Studies

With clarity and economy, a broad vista of political, socio-cultural and geographical factors are viewed, combining perspectives on the imperial source material with the critiques offered by postcolonial reassessments — aesthetic and ethical. Brantlinger's longstanding scholarly expertise in this area is adroitly condensed into a mere 180 pages … this concise yet considerable scope is the work's strength and should see it become a necessary guide to an almost unmanageably complex area. Routledge ABES With clarity and economy, a broad vista of political, socio-cultural and geographical factors are viewed, combining perspectives on the imperial source material with the critiques offered by postcolonial reassessments — aesthetic and ethical. Brantlinger's longstanding scholarly expertise in this area is adroitly condensed into a mere 180 pages … this concise yet considerable scope is the work's strength and should see it become a necessary guide to an almost unmanageably complex area.