Neo-Victorian Madness

Rediagnosing Nineteenth-Century Mental Illness in Literature and Other Media

Brenda Ayres editor Sarah E Maier editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Published:2nd Jun '21

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Neo-Victorian Madness cover

Neo-Victorian Madness: Rediagnosing Nineteenth-Century Mental Illness in Literature and Other Media investigates contemporary fiction, cinema and television shows set in the Victorian period that depict mad murderers, lunatic doctors, social dis/ease and madhouses as if many Victorians were “mad.” Such portraits demand a “rediagnosing” of mental illness that was often reduced to only female hysteria or a general malaise in nineteenth-century renditions. This collection of essays explores questions of neo-Victorian representations of moral insanity, mental illness, disturbed psyches or non-normative imaginings as well as considers the important issues of legal righteousness, social responsibility or methods of restraint and corrupt incarcerations. The chapters investigate the self-conscious re-visions, legacies and lessons of nineteenth-century discourses of madness and/or those persons presumed mad rediagnosed by present-day (neo-Victorian) representations informed by post-nineteenth-century psychological insights. 

“The volume … offers a good overview of the different shapes Neo-Victorian engagements with madness can take, a thorough exploration of Victorian mental-health-related medical discourses and some very strong individual contributions.” (Anne Reus, The Wilkie Collins Journal, wilkiecollinssociety.org, Vol. 18, 2021)

ISBN: 9783030465841

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 454g

308 pages