Neo-Victorianism and Sensation Fiction

Jessica Cox is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Brunel University London, UK.  She has research interests in Victorian sensation fiction, neo-Victorianism, the Brontës, and the maternal body in nineteenth-century literature and culture, and has published widely in these areas.

“In Neo-Victorianism and Sensation Fiction, Jessica Cox offers an exciting new intervention in the field of neo-Victorian studies. … Written in clear prose, and with good knowledge of both Victorian and neo-Victorian scholarship, the book presents a convincing argument for the study of the popularity and legacy of the sensation novel beyond the nineteenth century.” (Tara MacDonald, Victorian Studies, Vol. 64 (3), 2022)“Each chapter reaches its particular contrast and focus … the discussion is thorough and provokes reevaluation of the boundaries academic discourse has placed upon ever-evolving literature. … Cox’s study represents a valuable step in moving the conversation forward.” (Lydia Craig, The Wilkie Collins Journal, wilkiecollinssociety.org, Vol. 18, 2021)

• 1. Introduction" The Victorian Sensation Novel: Afterlives and Legacies.- Part I: Reinventing Victorian Popular Fiction: Genre and Neo-Sensationalism.- 2. Neo-Gothic Sensations.- 3. Criminal Sensations: Neo-Victorian Detectives.- 4. Repackaging the Sensation Novel: Neo-Victorian Young Adult Fiction.- Part II: Neo-Sensational Tropes.- 5. (Re)Presenting (Sexual) Trauma.- 6. Excavating the Victorians: Digging Up the Past in the Neo-Sensation Novel.- 7. Sensational Legacies: Tropes of Inheritance.- 8. Conclusion: ‘Substantial Ghosts’: Sensational Continuities and Legacies.