Victorian Literature: An Anthology

Increasingly scholars take a generous view of the multi-faceted term “Victorian,” dating it not only from Victoria’s reign, but sometimes from her birth in 1819 – or at least from the Great Reform Bill of 1832, when she was thirteen. Our approach to one common historical norm, the long nineteenth century (1789–1914), allows us to make contrasts and comparisons across a wide span of time and to include texts that were published before and after Victoria’s reign by writers who came into prominence during that reign.