Aesthetic movement
Neo-Victorianism
is an
aesthetic
movement that features an overt nostalgia for the
Victorian
period.
In arts and crafts
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Examples of crafts made in this style would include push-button
cordless telephones
made to look like antique wall-mounted phones,
CD players
resembling old time radios, Victorianesque furniture, and
Victorian era
-style clothing.
In
neo-romantic
and fantasy art, one can often see the elements of Victorian aesthetic values. There is also a strongly emerging genre of
steampunk
art.
McDermott & McGough
are a couple of contemporary artists whose work is all about a recreation of life in the nineteenth century: they only use the ultimate technology available, and since they are supposed to live anachronistically, this means the use of earlier photographic processes, and maintaining the illusion of a life stuck in the ways of a forgotten era.
[1]
Works of fiction
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Neo-Victorian works of fiction are creative narrative works set in the Victorian period, but written, interpreted or reproduced by more contemporary artists.
Many neo-Victorian novels have reinterpreted, reproduced and rewritten Victorian culture. Significant texts include
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
(
John Fowles
, 1969),
Possession
(
A. S. Byatt
, 1990),
Arthur and George
(
Julian Barnes
, 2005),
Dorian, An Imitation
(
Will Self
, 2002)
Jack Maggs
(
Peter Carey
, 1997),
Wide Sargasso Sea
(
Jean Rhys
, 1966).
Recent neo-Victorian novels have often been adapted to the screen, from
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
(Karel Reisz, 1981) to the television adaptations of
Sarah Waters
(
Tipping the Velvet
, BBC2, 2002,
Fingersmith
, BBC1, 2005,
Affinity
ITV, 2008) and
Michel Faber
(
The Crimson Petal and the White
, BBC 1, 2011). These narratives may indicate a 'sexsation' of neo-Victorianism,
[2]
and have been called "in-yer-face" neo-Victorianism (Voigts-Virchow).
[3]
Recent productions of neo-Victorianism on screen include
Guy Ritchie
’s
Sherlock Holmes
films and TV series such as
Sherlock
,
Ripper Street
,
Whitechapel
,
Murdoch Mysteries
and
Penny Dreadful
. The neo-Victorian formula can be expanded to include Edwardian consumer culture (
Downton Abbey
,
The Paradise
and
Mr Selfridge
).
In dress and behaviour
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Many who have adopted Neo-Victorian style have also adopted Victorian behavioural affectations, seeking to imitate standards of Victorian conduct, pronunciation, interpersonal interaction. Some even go so far as to embrace certain Victorian habits such as shaving with
straight razors
, riding
penny farthings
, exchanging
calling cards
, and using
fountain pens
to write letters in
florid prose
sealed by wax.
Gothic fashion
sometimes incorporates Neo-Victorian style.
Neo-Victorianism is embraced in, but also quite distinguished from, the
Lolita
,
Aristocrat
and
Madam
fashions popular in Japan, and which are becoming more noticeable in Europe.
Social conservatives
[
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Neo-Victorian
aesthetics
are also popular in the
United States
and
United Kingdom
among
cultural conservatives
and
social conservatives
.
[4]
Books such as
The Benevolence of Manners: Recapturing the Lost Art of Gracious Victorian Living
call for a return to
Victorian morality
.
[5]
The term Neo-Victorian is also commonly used in a derogatory way towards social conservatives.
Many of the things that seem commonplace in modern life began in the Victorian era, such as sponsorship, sensational journalism and popular merchandise.
[6]
Research
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In September 2007,
The University of Exeter
explored the phenomenon in a major international conference titled
Neo-Victorianism: The Politics and Aesthetics of Appropriation
.
[7]
Academic studies include
Neo-Victorianism: The Victorians in the Twenty-First Century, 1999?2009
.
[8]
Other foundational texts of neo-Victorian criticism are Kucich and Sadoff (2000), Kaplan (2007), Kohlke (2008-), Munford and Young (2009), Mitchell (2010), Davies (2012), Whelehan (2012), Kleinecke-Bates (2014), Bohm-Schnitker and Gruss (2014), Tomaiuolo (2018), and others.
In popular culture and literature
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]
Neo-Victorianism can also be seen in the growing
steampunk
genre of
speculative fiction
and in music performers such as
Emilie Autumn
. Neo-Victorianism is also popular with, and in many ways prefigured by, those who are interested in
Victoriana
and
historical reenactment
.
Neo-Victorian details appear in
The Diamond Age
by
Neal Stephenson
,
[9]
in which Neo-Victorians are one of the main groups of protagonists.
Carnival Diablo
is a Neo-Victorian circus sideshow that has been touring North America for 20 years.
Unhallowed Metropolis is a
roleplaying game
based in a Neo-Victorian setting.
See also
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References
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Further reading
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]
- Chrisman, Sarah
Waisted Curves: My Transformation Into A Victorian Lady
2010. Aegis & Owl Press
- Neo-Victorian Studies
(peer-reviewed web journal)
- Primorac, Antonija.
Neo-Victorianism on Screen. Postfeminism and Contemporary Adaptations of Victorian Women.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
- Heilmann, Ann; Llewellyn, Mark.
Neo-Victorianism : the Victorians in the twenty-first century, 1999-2009.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
- Special issue on neo-Victorianism.
LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory
. 20 (1?2)
- Tomaiuolo, Saverio.
Neo-Victorian Deviance. Canon, Transgression, Innovation.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
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Premodern
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Modern
(1863?1944)
| 1863?1899
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1900?1914
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1915?1944
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Contemporary
and
Postmodern
(1945?present)
| 1945?1959
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1960?1969
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1970?1999
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2000?
present
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Related topics
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