Queer Books of Late Victorian Print Culture

Queer books adapt heteronormative structures and institutions to create space for queer desire, examining print culture adaptations of the material book and bringing textual studies and queer theory into conversation with literary experiments. They challenge legal and representational discourses of same-sex desire with aesthetic sensuality, creating a community of like-minded aesthetes.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2024
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Queer books, like LGBTQ+ people, have a unique way of adapting heteronormative structures and institutions to create a space for the expression of queer desire. Queer Books of Late-Victorian Print Culture delves into the adaptations of the material book in print culture, focusing on the works of Aubrey Beardsley, Michael Field, John Gray, Charles Ricketts, Charles Shannon, and Oscar Wilde. It examines the material aspects of the book, including binding, typography, paper, ink, and illustration, and brings together textual studies and queer theory with literary experiments in free verse, fairy tales, and symbolist drama. King argues that queer authors and artists redefined the ideals of the Revival of Printings for their own diverse and unique desires, incorporating new technological innovations in print culture. Their books created a community of like-minded aesthetes who challenged legal and representational discourses of same-sex desire with one of aesthetic sensuality.

Weight: 560g
Dimension: 161 x 241 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399525947