Richard D. Altick (1915–2008)

Subtitled 'A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature' this is an excellent and (unsually for a book written by an academic) very readable look at the beliefs and ideas which influenced Victorian authors and readers. It's therefore more of a cultural history rather than a social history but invaluable for a reader who wants to really get to grips with Victorian literature. By way of evangelicalism, romanticism, utilitarianism and probably some other 'isms' that I've forgotten, show more Altick makes the case that the period of time we think of when someone says 'Victiorian' is actually the relatively short 20 years from 1850-1870 and that things were very different earlier and later in Queen Victoria's reign. I took lots of notes whilst I was reading but I found this so helpful that I think I want my own copy. I also appreciated that Altick seems to have a fairly balanced view of the ideaologies of the period and never completely dismisses or demonises a particular group. show less

Wry and smirking Altick does it again. Victorian Studies in Scarlet is a rundown of some of the most notorious crimes of the Victorian Age. Altick is a pleasure to read. He often gives the impression the reader is being let in on a little secret. Skip the chapters on yellow journalism and the Victorian mind, unless you want enlightening about the origin of the term ‘penny dreadful’ and theories on their role in improving English literacy.

I enjoyed reading this overview of the Victorian period because it summarized very neatly all of the cultural background that you find in Victorian novels. Altick is a master of sentence structure and he pulls together complex ideas into easily understood synopses.

I made the mistake of assuming that Knopf would not publish a pedestrian study. Having ploughed through it all -- often repetitious and obvious -- at the very end, Altick remarks: "But what pertinence has biographical nowledge to a proper understanding of a writer's work?" He does not answer this question; and seems unaware of how to even tackle it with Auerbach-like criticism.