Oceania and the Victorian Imagination
Subtitle: Where All Things Are Possible
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 220
ISBN-13: 9781409457114
Subjects: English literature, history and criticism, 19th century; Literature and society; Travelers' writings, history and criticism
Description: Publisher description: Oceania, or the South Pacific, loomed large in the Victorian popular imagination. It was a world that interested the Victorians for many reasons, all of which suggested to them that everything was possible there. This collection of essays focuses on Oceania's impact on Victorian culture, most notably travel writing, photography, international exhibitions, literature, and the world of children. Each of these had significant impact. The literature discussed affected mainly the middle and upper classes, while exhibitions and photography reached down into the working classes, as did missionary presentations. The experience of children was central to the Pacific's effects, as youthful encounters at exhibitions, chapel, home or school formed lifelong impressions and experience. This text contributes significantly to our discussion of the non-peripheral place of Oceania in Victorian culture.