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Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 00:00:43 -0500
From: Automatic digest processor <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: VICTORIA 19th-Century British Culture & Society
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Subject: VICTORIA Digest - 26 Jun 2002 to 27 Jun 2002 (#2002-177)
To: Recipients of VICTORIA digests <[log in to unmask]>
There are 13 messages totalling 460 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. yellow book (3)
2. Bram Stoker
3. Originality
4. Wuthering Heights (5)
5. Bibliography on the History of International Exhibitions, 1851-1951
6. Weak Heart
7. Nursing fiction
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Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 07:39:23 -0230
From: Elizabeth Miller <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: yellow book
The first edition of Dracula (1897) had a yellow cover. Of course! :)
Elizabeth Miller
[log in to unmask]
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/ ["Dracula's homepage"]
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Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 09:25:30 +0100
From: Andrew Maunder <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Bram Stoker
>
>Many thanks to everyone who replied to my inquiry about Bram Stoker's
>reputation.
Andrew Maunder
>Andrew Maunder wrote:
>
> > I'm currently trying to gauge Bram Stoker's reputation in the first half of
> > the 20th century. Mostly Stoker doesn't appear in any literary histories of
> > the period, the idea being presumably that he is just too unimportant.
> > I've also been attempting to work out Bloomsbury's attitude to him but here
> > again he's invisible. There doesnt seem to be any equivalent to Virginia
> > Woolf's comments on George Eliot for example. Perhaps this isn't surprising
> > but if anyone does know of any sources where he warrants a mention, I'd be
> > very glad to hear from them.
>
>In the course of researching a novel set in Whitby I bought Andrew
>White's 'A History Of Whitby' (Phillimore & Co, 1993).
>The author refers to Stoker as follows:
>
>"A few years ago Bram Stoker was largely forgotten. His classic
>horror story Dracula, though still in print, was little considered and in
>Whitby hardly anyone had heard of it. However, a remake of the
>film and the recognition that vampires are good for tourism led to the
>opening of 'The Dracula Experience' in 1986 on Marine Parade..."
>
>I appreciate that this reference may be of limited interest to Andrew
>Maunder because it dates from the second rather than first half of
>the 20th century. However, I present it to the VICTORIA list at large
>because of my own doubts as to the veracity of Dr White's
>assertion.
>
>Was Stoker's star really so eclipsed as he claims? The notion that
>by the early 1980s "hardly anyone" in Whitby had heard of Stoker
>can probably be discounted as uncharitable resentment felt by a
>local historian against a nineteenth century Irish interloper who
>presumed to immortalise Whitby after a mere visit. But there must
>be some substance to his wider claim that Stoker was "largely
>forgotten". How much, though? I'd always imagined that ever since
>the 1930s, when Hollywood made its first film version, the book had
>been constantly in the public consciousness. Not so?
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Michel Faber
>[log in to unmask]
Dr Andrew Maunder
English Literature Group
Faculty of Humanities
University of Hertfordshire
Wall Hall
Aldenham
Watford
Herts WD2 8AT
Tel: +44 (0)1707 285641
Email: [log in to unmask]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 08:58:17 -0300
From: Beth Sutton-Ramspeck <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Originality
It occurs to me that Mary Shelley's fascinating 1831 preface to
_Frankenstein_ might qualify as "post-Romantic." Certainly, it embodies
some interesting/anxious adaptations and departures from Romantic ideas
of originality. Its nothing if not about origins.
Beth Sutton-Ramspeck
[log in to unmask]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 09:33:08 -0300
From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Wuthering Heights
I would have to say that the "literary merits" of *Wuthering Heights* have
been pretty much established by the wide variety of criticism directed
towards it, and perhaps that diversity itself says something about the book's
success. Of course its original Victorian reception was almost completely
negative, but subsequent readers have become more and more engrossed by the
text. Frank Kermode's treatment of *WH* in *The Classic* (1975) helped boost
its status, although its upward movement on the canonization scale was
already well under way by then. For my own purposes it is the novel's
openness to multiple approaches which makes it both useful and admirable.
Formalist, Marxist, feminist, and psychological readings all produce
extremely interesting readings, while the novel also allows one to talk about
such things as narrative structure, strategies of closure, and presentations
of race. And this is leaving aside such themes as romantic love/obsession
which have already been mentioned. If literary merit is based significantly
on the sophisticated complexity of a text (which I think it is), then
*Wuthering Heights* has that in spades.
Richard Nemesvari
Department of English
St. Francis Xavier University
[log in to unmask]
> To give further context to my query, there are some high school teachers
> who are desiring to know more about the literary merits of Wuthering
> Heights. I would like to know how it stands among university instructors
> today.
>
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 15:14:17 +0200
From: Alexander CT Geppert <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Bibliography on the History of International Exhibitions, 1851-1951
[Apologies for Cross-Posting]
RE: Bibliography on the History of International Exhibitions, 1851-1951
Dear Colleagues,
We would like to announce that "International Exhibitions, Expositions
Universelles and World's Fairs, 1851-1951: A Bibliography," a comprehensive,
web-based bibliography of secondary sources on the history of world's fairs,
has been updated and expanded. With almost 1500 items, the bibliography now
includes 375 more entries, covering several newly added expositions, from
Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, and the USA, among others. There is also
an Internet Resources section, with 58 web sites on numerous world's fairs,
hyperlinked for the user's convenience.
The bibliography is accessible through the "Theory of Architecture" web site
of Brandenburgische Technische Universität (Cottbus, Germany) as part of the
journal "Wolkenkuckucksheim: Internationale Zeitschrift für Theorie und
Wissenschaft der Architektur" at
http://www.theo.tu-cottbus.de/Wolke/eng/Bibliography/ExpoBibliography.htm.
It can also be viewed on the web site of the Donald G. Larson Collection on
International Expositions and Fairs, 1851-1940, Special Collections Library,
California State University, Fresno,
http://www.lib.csufresno.edu/SubjectResources/SpecialCollections/WorldFairs/
Secondarybiblio.pdf.
From the time when the bibliography was first launched in February 2001,
reactions from the scholarly community have been very positive and
encouraging. The list is actively updated and augmented on an ongoing
basis. We see this as an interactive, participative process. How can we
improve the bibliography and make it more useful? All comments, suggestions
and additions are much appreciated. URLs for any world's fair-related web
site are especially welcome. Please send them to Alexander Geppert at
[log in to unmask] or to Jean Coffey at [log in to unmask]
We extend our gratitude to all those who have offered their comments and
provided us with new sources. Special thanks, in particular, to Serge
Noiret, Moritz Staemmler and Stephen Wildman for their suggestions and
advice during the updating process, and to David Fisher for his extensive
list of sources.
Yours sincerely,
Alexander C.T. Geppert
The European University Institute
Florence, Italy
Jean Coffey and Tammy Lau
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, California
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 15:17:53 +0100
From: Michel Faber <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights has joined that canon of texts which far more
people imagine they've read than have actually done so. Other
works in that canon include Catch 22, On The Road, Gulliver's
Travels, Frankenstein, Dracula and The Bible. Each has a parallel
existence (parallel, that is, to the actual experience of reading) as an
icon of a certain *sort* of book, a paradigm or progenitor of a
genre, or even a symbol of a particular situation/belief system.
Wuthering Heights has become popularly associated with romance
and the romance genre in mass-market fiction. Much of the genre
either conforms to (what have become) Wuthering Heights'
perceived cliches or self-consciously subverts them. Simplified
Hollywood film versions and pop culture repackagings have created
an illusion of a book which vast numbers of people feel as though
they've read "sometime maybe, a long time ago".
The negative side of this delusion is that Bronte's book, which in
reality is such a complex, dark and thorny masterpiece, is often
praised -- or dismissed -- as the epitome of swoony romance. This
leads to people declaring that they don't need to read it because
they "know all about it already". It may even explain why some high
school teachers (as in the query passed on by Karla Walters) "are
desiring to know more about the literary merits of Wuthering
Heights", as if those literary merits might be in doubt among
"university instructors today". (My apologies, Karla, if I am mistaking
the wellspring of your colleagues' curiosity here).
However, perhaps the positive side of Wuthering Heights'
"alternative existence" is that students are more likely to choose it for
study, thinking that they already have a 'handle' on it. Wuthering
Heights is by no means an easy book to analyse or discuss -- much
easier books could be chosen by a student wishing to write a pain-
free essay -- but it may attract people with its deceptive familiarity.
Best wishes,
Michel Faber
[log in to unmask]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 11:17:18 EDT
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Weak Heart
My thanks to all who supplied text titles and suggestions. The psychological
possibilities sound fascinating.
Cynthia Behrman
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 11:30:45 -0400
From: Lewis H Whitaker <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Wuthering Heights
Well said! I wonder if any of us would admit to how many of the works from
this list we've REALLY actually read!? (As opposed to "thinking that we know
it already.")
As for me, my lips are sealed :)
Lewis H Whitaker
Department of English
Georgia State University
-----Original Message-----
From: VICTORIA 19th-Century British Culture & Society
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Michel Faber
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 10:18 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights has joined that canon of texts which far more
people imagine they've read than have actually done so. Other
works in that canon include Catch 22, On The Road, Gulliver's
Travels, Frankenstein, Dracula and The Bible. Each has a parallel
existence (parallel, that is, to the actual experience of reading) as an
icon of a certain *sort* of book, a paradigm or progenitor of a
genre, or even a symbol of a particular situation/belief system.
Best wishes,
Michel Faber
[log in to unmask]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 13:35:56 -0400
From: James Jayo <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: yellow book
Elizabeth Miller wrote:
> The first edition of Dracula (1897)
> had a yellow cover.
Which was, I have to say, one of the ugliest C19th book covers I have ever laid
eyes on. Were there any contemporary comments, good or bad, on the design?
James Jayo
[log in to unmask]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 20:57:34 -0230
From: Elizabeth Miller <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: yellow book
On Thu, 27 Jun 2002, James Jayo wrote:
> Elizabeth Miller wrote:
>
> > The first edition of Dracula (1897)
> > had a yellow cover.
>
> Which was, I have to say, one of the ugliest C19th book covers I have
>ever laid eyes on. Were there any contemporary comments, good or bad,
>on the design?
Dreadful indeed! I am not aware of any contemporary comments about it.
The paperback edition (abridged) that Constable brought out in 1901 had a
much better cover (Dracula crawling down the castle wall).
Given that a first edition of _Dracula_ (unsigned) will probably fetch at
least $15,000 (U.S.), I wouldn't mind having one, ugly cover and all! :)
Elizabeth Miller
[log in to unmask]
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/ ["Dracula's homepage"]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 18:06:35 -0700
From: Karla K Walters <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Wuthering Heights
Many thanks to all who responded to my query about Wuthering Heights. I
am grateful, as always, for Victoria's collective expertise and
appreciation for Victorian texts and contexts. You have provided me with
exactly the range of ideas I needed.
Karla Walters
Bellevue, Washington
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 21:15:29 -0500
From: Nancy Nygaard <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Nursing fiction
Hello Victoria List:
I'm looking for titles and suggestions of late Victorian-early Edwardian
fiction dealing with nurses, preferrably for girls.
I'm particularly interested in military medicine titles, but any
suggestions on nursing fiction of the "career" sort would be most
welcome.
Thanks for your help,
Nancy Nygaard
--
Nancy Nygaard
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
[log in to unmask]
http://www.uwm.edu/People/nnygaard/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 13:56:18 +0930
From: Kerryn Goldsworthy <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Wuthering Heights
Lewis Whitaker wrote "I wonder if any of us would admit to how many of the
works from this list we've REALLY actually read!? (As opposed to "thinking
that we know it already.")
I refer him to David Lodge's *Changing Places*, in which the (academic)
characters play a game called Humiliation, a game that one can only win by
admitting to not having read things one ought to have read, and which
therefore gives most literary academics (who (a) love to win, but (b) hate
to admit they haven't read things) nervous breakdowns. One nasty character
called Howard Ringbaum ends up failing to get tenure after he falsely
claims not to have read *Hamlet* in order to win the game. (Howard Ringbaum
reminds me of some of the people I used to work with.)
My experience of teaching *Wuthering Heights* - in a so-called 'prestige'
university, ie one where the students were more likely than not to have had
some exposure to literary classics at home - was that every year, of the
40-60 students who enrolled in my 'Women and Fiction in the 19th Century'
seminar, more than half took the course because *Wuthering Heights* was on
it. When I asked them why, when they had already read it, they would choose
a whole seminar - one-sixth of an entire English major - simply because it
meant reading a book they'd already read, they found it hard to answer; the
best they could do was 'because I love it'.
This doesn't answer Karla's question, I know, but it's suggestive; would
one not compile such a list from those literary texts most likely to have
been read by the largest number of people? To me, an even more interesting
question is why students insist on writing about texts to which they have
pre-formed passionate emotional responses; they usually write about them
very badly. (Like many other listmembers, I'm sure, I have graded hundreds
of excruciating undergraduate essays on WH in my time, so may be a bit
jaded here.)
As for WH's enduring popularity as a teaching text, I think Richard
Nemesvari's point about the many different possible readings is spot-on. In
fact I occasionally used it in theory classes as a way of introducing
students to different kinds of critical readings, and/or to a potted
literary history of the long 19th century, where WH sits in the middle of
the web like a waiting spider.
------------------
Kerryn Goldsworthy
93 Spring Street
Queenstown, SA 5014
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 (0)8 8341 0224
Mobile: +61 (0)402 052198
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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End of VICTORIA Digest - 26 Jun 2002 to 27 Jun 2002 (#2002-177)
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