The Aesthetics of Space in Nineteenth-Century British Literature, 1843-1907

The book explores the link between Ruskin and the tradition of aesthetics of space, linking him to modernism. It reads comparatively five important mid to late nineteenth-century writers and fills a gap in the critical literature on city-writing between realism and early modernism. It charts an 'aesthetic, post-realist tradition of writing' and considers the significant role played by John Ruskin's art criticism in later writing which dealt with the new kinds of spaces encountered in the nineteenth century.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 28 February 2022
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Ruskin's connection to the tradition of aesthetics of space is explored in this book, which also discusses a previously understudied tradition of city writing that connects Ruskin to modernism. Five significant mid-to-late nineteenth-century authors are compared in the book, which combines close textual analysis with historical and geographical context. The book fills a gap in the critical literature on city writing between realism and early modernism by charting an 'aesthetic, post-realist tradition of writing.' The book investigates the significant impact of John Ruskin's art criticism on later writing that dealt with the new kinds of spaces encountered in the nineteenth century. Chapters are devoted to the ways in which aesthetic and decadent writers such as Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde built upon and challenged Ruskin's ideas, linking the late Dickens to the early modernism of Henry James. The Aesthetics of Space in Nineteenth-Century British Literature offers a vibrant vision of what an aesthetically sensitive treatment of these spaces looked like during the period.

Weight: 431g
Dimension: 234 x 156 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474443739