Carolyn W. de la L. Oulton is Senior Lecturer in English at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. She writes on Victorian literature and culture and is also the author of several volumes of poetry, including The Rain (2000), Left Past the Moon (2001), and Warned Against Unnecessary Journeys.

’ One of Oulton's gifts as a writer is integrating source material seamlessly and substantially into her discussion, with only very rare footnotes. The result is an exceptionally readable account and one that is fully accessible...’ Brontë Studies ’... makes a powerful case for the recovery of a complex and contradictory ideal.’ Review of English Studies

• Introduction; Chapter One Ennobling Genius: Writing Victorian Romantic Friendship; Chapter Two Extraordinary Reserve: The Problem of Male Friendship; Chapter Three A Right to Your Intimacy: The Ends of Female Friendship; Chapter Four Tenderest Caresses: Romantic Friendship and the Satirists; Chapter Five Sinister Meaning: Crises at the Fin de Siècle; Chapter 6 Conclusion;

Carolyn W. de la L. Oulton is Senior Lecturer in English at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. She writes on Victorian literature and culture and is also the author of several volumes of poetry, including The Rain (2000), Left Past the Moon (2001), and Warned Against Unnecessary Journeys.

’ One of Oulton's gifts as a writer is integrating source material seamlessly and substantially into her discussion, with only very rare footnotes. The result is an exceptionally readable account and one that is fully accessible...’ Brontë Studies ’... makes a powerful case for the recovery of a complex and contradictory ideal.’ Review of English Studies

• Introduction; Chapter One Ennobling Genius: Writing Victorian Romantic Friendship; Chapter Two Extraordinary Reserve: The Problem of Male Friendship; Chapter Three A Right to Your Intimacy: The Ends of Female Friendship; Chapter Four Tenderest Caresses: Romantic Friendship and the Satirists; Chapter Five Sinister Meaning: Crises at the Fin de Siècle; Chapter 6 Conclusion;