Aristocracies of Fiction The Idea of Aristocracy in Late-nineteenth-century and Early-twentieth-century Literary Culture

Drawing on a wide range of writers, including Marie Corelli, Henry James, George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf, this book demonstrates how concepts of aristocracy impacted the literary culture of the twentieth century. The final fall of the British aristocracy triggered astonishing responses in literature. Literary aristocrats were transformed into warrior heroes, Scotland Yard detectives, swashbucklers, diseased degenerates, and Gothic monsters. This volume raises significant questions about cultural processes and the nature of cultural value.