The Victorian Short Story
Development and Triumph of a Literary Genre

Examines the development of the Victorian short story, which by the 1890s had become the most popular literary product of the late nineteenth century.

Harold Orel (Author)

9780521135481, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 March 2010

224 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.2 cm, 0.26 kg

This book is a study of the development of the Victorian short story, which by the 1890s and the appearance of the Sherlock Holmes stories, had become the most popular literary product of the late nineteenth century. The book examines the work of nine distinguished writers: William Carleton and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu serve to illustrate the change from a largely oral tradition to a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of the reading public. Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope exemplify significant changes in the relationship between an author and his audience. Thomas Hardy insisted on older, more traditional modes of narrative, but his storytelling sense had been sharpened by experiences with many editors of periodicals who believed they were serving the 'modern' public. The other writers treated at length are Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad and H. G. Wells.

List of illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: problems in defining a genre
1. William Carleton: elements of the folk tradition
2. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: developing the horror tale
3. Charles Dickens: establishing rapport with the public
4. Anthony Trollope: baking tarts for readers of periodicals
5. Thomas Hardy: an older tradition of narrative
6. Robert Louis Stevenson: many problems, some successes
7. Rudyard Kipling: the Anglo-Indian stories
8. Joseph Conrad and H. G. Wells: different concepts of a short story
Epilogue: the triumph of a genre
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]