Neo-Victorianism and the Memory of Empire

Description

Examining the global dimensions of Neo-Victorianism, this book explores how the appropriation of Victorian images in contemporary literature and culture has emerged as a critical response to the crises of decolonization and Imperial collapse. ÂNeo-Victorianism and the Memory of Empire explores the phenomenon by reading a range of popular and literary Anglophone neo-Victorian texts, including Alan Moore's Graphic Novel From Hell, works by Peter Carey and Margaret Atwood, the films of Jackie Chan and contemporary ‘Steampunk’ science fiction. Through these readings Elizabeth Ho explores how constructions of popular memory and fictionalisations of the past reflect political and psychological engagements with our contemporary post-Imperial circumstances. Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments List of Figures Introduction Neo-Victorianism and Improper Postcolonialisms The “N-word” and the “V-word” Improper Postcolonialisms Past Recovery: Methods of Remembering Patel and Pun, or, A Chapter Review Chapter 1 Neo-Victorianism and “Ripperature”: Alan Moore’s From Hell Ripperature and Gender: Margaret Thatcher’s “Queenliness” Ripperature and Heritage: Melancholic Narratives and a ­Critique of Neo-Victorianism Post-Imperial Landscapes: Ripperature, Psychogeography, and Englishness Jack the Ripper™ Chapter 2 Neo-Victorianism Down Under: Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs The House that Jack Built Down Under Charles Dickens, You Bastard “Singing for his Supper:” The National Author in Australia Mesmerism and Trauma Citizenship Chapter 3 Neo-Victorianism South of Nowhere: ­Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace Neo-Victorianism, Whiteness, and Multiculturalism From Susanna Moodie to Grace Marks White Men Need Not Apply Quilting: Multiculturalism and Feminism “Made Strange” “Je me souviens:” Neo-Victorian Memoro-Politics “. . . A White Lie Such as the Angels Tell” Chapter 4 “Far-Flung” Neo-Victorianism: Hong Kong and Jackie Chan’s Neo-Victorian Films Another “Island Story” Smoke and Mirrors: The Opium War in Hong Kong Texts Neo-Victorianism and Jackie Chan I: “Born in Hong Kong” Neo-Victorianism and Jackie Chan II: Shanghai Noon, ­Shanghai Knights, and the Chinese Diaspora Chapter 5 Neo-Victorianism and Science Fiction: “Steampunk” Steampunk: An Orientation Empires: The Difference Engine and The Diamond Age Steamboy: Japan’s Victorian Past Around the World Again Chapter 6 The Neo-Victorian-at-Sea: Toward a Global Memory of the Victorian Neo-Victorianism Now: A Frozen Archive The Neo-Victorian-at-Sea From “Black Line” to “Black Water”: English Passengers and Sea of Poppies Somewhere Beyond the Sea: Neo-Victorianism’s Future “Lady Franklin’s Lament” Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Bibliography Index