Josephine M. Guy

The Theory and Politics of Tradition

The British Avant-garde

This book describes various accounts of the Victorian social-problem novel, examining their strengths and limitations in the light of the historiographical assumptions which underlie them. An alternative historical account is offered, which focuses on the novels' intellectual milieu - specifically on mid-Victorian concepts of 'the social' and of what was understood by the term 'social problem'. In detailed readings of individual works, the book argues that an appreciation of these concepts permits new ways of understanding the contradictions identified in these works together with their apparently 'conservative' politics.

The Market, the Individual and Communal Life

The Victorian Social-Problem Novel

The late nineteenth-century fin de si�cle has proved an enduringly fascinating moment in literary and cultural history. It is associated with the emergence of intriguing figures-such as the 'new woman' and 'uranian'; with contradictory impulses-of decadence and decay on the one hand, and of experiment and renewal, on the other; as well as with unprecedented intercultural exchange, especially between Britain and France. The 22 newly-commissioned essays collected here re-examine some of the key concepts taken to define the fin de si�cle, while also introducing hitherto overlooked cultural phenomena into the frame, such as the importance of humanitarianism. The impact of recent research in material culture is explored, particularly how the history of the book and the history of performance culture is changing our understanding of this period. A wide range of cultural activities is discussed-from participation in avant-garde theatre to interior decoration and from the writing of poetry to political and religious activism. Together, the essays provide new scholarly insights into British fin de si�cle and enrich our understanding of this complex period, while paying particular attention to the importance of regionalism.

The Edinburgh Companion to Fin-de-siècle Literature, Culture and the Arts

Ian Small

"Studying Oscar Wilde: History, Criticism, & Myth takes issue with many assumptions current in Wilde scholarship. Professors Guy and Small are interested in the tension between Wilde's enduring popularity with the general reading public as a perennially witty entertainer and his status among academics as a complex, politicized writer attuned to the cultural and philosophical currents associated with modernity. A number of commonly held views are challenged." "To what extent is De Profundis autobiographical? How sophisticated is the learning exhibited in Intentions? In what ways are the society comedies "about" homosexuality?" "The volume also examines some of Wilde's lesser-known, unfinished works and scenarios, including The Cardinal of Avignon, La Sainte Courtisane, and A Florentine Tragedy (all printed as appendices), arguing that these "failed" works provide important insight into the reasons for Wilde's popular success." "Guy and Small have authored numerous articles and books on Wilde. This new book will be a must read for scholars, but it is also written in a jargon-free language that speaks to the wider audience of readers who enjoy Oscar Wilde."--BOOK JACKET.

History, Criticism, and Myth

Studying Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

Volume IV of the Oxford English Texts Complete Works of Oscar Wilde is the first variorum edition of Wilde's best-known critical essays - those published in Intentions and The Soul of Man, as well as his graduate essay The Rise of Historical Criticism (re-titled here Historical Criticism).

Volume IV: Criticism: Historical Criticism, Intentions, The Soul of Man

The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde

The first scholarly comparative analysis of Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze's philosophies of difference

Josephine M. Guy

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