Carolyn Lambert – författare

This interdisciplinary volume explores the fictional portrayal of marriage by women novelists between 1800 and 1900. It investigates the ways in which these novelists used the cultural form of the novel to engage with and contribute to the wider debates of the period around the fundamental cultural and social building block of marriage. The collection provides an important contribution to the emerging scholarly interest in nineteenth-century marriage, gender studies, and domesticity, opening up new possibilities for uncovering submerged, marginalized, and alternative stories in Victorian literature. An initial chapter outlines the public discourses around marriage in the nineteenth century, the legal reforms that were achieved as a result of public pressure, and the ways in which these laws and economic concerns impacted on the marital relationship. It beds the collection down in current critical thinking and draws on life writing, journalism, and conduct books to widen our understanding of how women responded to the ideological and cultural construct of marriage. Further chapters examine a range of texts by lesser-known writers as well as canonical authors structured around a timeline of the major legal reforms that impacted on marriage. This structure provides a clear framework for the collection, locating it firmly within contemporary debate and foregrounding female voices. An afterword reflects back on the topic of marriage in the nineteenth- century and considers how the activism of the period influenced and shaped reform post-1900. This volume will make an important contribution to scholarship on Victorian Literature, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, and the Nineteenth Century.

This interdisciplinary volume explores the fictional portrayal of marriage by women novelists between 1800 and 1900. It investigates the ways in which these novelists used the cultural form of the novel to engage with and contribute to the wider debates of the period around the fundamental cultural and social building block of marriage. The collection provides an important contribution to the emerging scholarly interest in nineteenth-century marriage, gender studies, and domesticity, opening up new possibilities for uncovering submerged, marginalized, and alternative stories in Victorian literature. An initial chapter outlines the public discourses around marriage in the nineteenth century, the legal reforms that were achieved as a result of public pressure, and the ways in which these laws and economic concerns impacted on the marital relationship. It beds the collection down in current critical thinking and draws on life writing, journalism, and conduct books to widen our understanding of how women responded to the ideological and cultural construct of marriage. Further chapters examine a range of texts by lesser-known writers as well as canonical authors structured around a timeline of the major legal reforms that impacted on marriage. This structure provides a clear framework for the collection, locating it firmly within contemporary debate and foregrounding female voices. An afterword reflects back on the topic of marriage in the nineteenth- century and considers how the activism of the period influenced and shaped reform post-1900. This volume will make an important contribution to scholarship on Victorian Literature, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, and the Nineteenth Century.

By the standards of any age, Frances (Fanny) Trollope was an extraordinary woman who led an extraordinary life. She did not begin writing until she was 53, but in the 24 years between 1832 and 1856 she produced no fewer than 40 books, comprising 150 volumes. E impulse was to save her family from financial ruin. / The Mother of the novelist Anthony Trollope, she was born at Stapleton near Bristol on 10 March 1779. She lived through tumultuous events: the madness of George III, the Napoleonic wars, the French Revolution and the threat of civil war in Italy. The political, economic and social upheavals of the age were mirrored by Trollope's own restless travels through Europe and America, driven by the need to support her family and by her own thirst for company and social and intellectual stimulation. / She drew unashamedly on her own experiences, the people she met on her travels and her large circle of friends and acquaintances to produce her copious range of novels and travel books. She was prolific, critically well-received and very popular. It is puzzling to know why she has apparently been marginalised and largely over-looked, particularly given the radical and controversial nature of much of her writing, combined with her unerring eye for the pretentious, exuberant comic sense, and sardonic wit. This book exposes the reasons for Trollope's unjustified neglect and seeks to give her the recognition she deserves.