Victorian Fantasy

Victorian fantasy is an art form that flourished in opposition to the repressive social and intellectual conditions of ‘Victorianism’.  The author explores the ways in which Victorian writers used non-realistic techniques – nonsense, dreams, visions, and the creation of other worlds – to extend our understanding of this world, and the creation of this world.  This work focuses on six key writers: Lear, Carroll, Kingsley, MacDonald, Kipling, and Nesbit. Stephen Prickett traces the development of their art form, their influence on each other, and how these writers used fantasy to question the ideology of Victorian culture and society.