JM Allan
A 'base and spurious thing': Reading and deceptive femininity in Ellen Wood's Parkwater (1857)
Allan, JM
Authors
Abstract
Concentrating on Ellen Wood’s Parkwater, a little-known New Monthly
Magazine serial, this article attempts to complicate the long-standing
construction of Wood as a ‘quiet sensationalist’. It argues that Wood’s
serial was self-consciously appealing to the New Monthly’s male readers
and thus incorporated scenes and details of a surprisingly graphic nature.
At the same time, the article situates the narrative within the context of
a new commodity culture, as well as the 1857 murder trial of Madeleine
Smith, suggesting that Wood’s exploration of deceptive femininity
resonates with current events in a particularly insistent manner.
Citation
Allan, J. (2011). A 'base and spurious thing': Reading and deceptive femininity in Ellen Wood's Parkwater (1857). Critical Survey, 23(1), 8-24. https://doi.org/10.3167/cs.2011.230102
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | Jan 1, 2011 |
| Deposit Date | Jan 17, 2012 |
| Journal | Critical Survey |
| Print ISSN | 0011-1570 |
| Publisher | Berghahn Journals |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 8-24 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.3167/cs.2011.230102 |
| Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/cs.2011.230102 |