The Devil and the Victorians: Supernatural Evil in Nineteenth-Century English Culture

The significance of the supernatural in a Victorian context is explored in this book, which emphasizes the Devil's pervasiveness and diversity. It uses a rich array of primary material to explore the Victorians' complex and ambivalent relationship with the supernatural, including theological and folkloric works, fiction, newspapers and periodicals, and broadsides and other ephemera.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 236 pages
Publication date: 26 September 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In recent decades, there has been a growing recognition of the significance of the supernatural in a Victorian context. Studies of nineteenth-century spiritualism, occultism, magic, and folklore have highlighted that Victorian England was ridden with specters and learned magicians. Despite this growing body of scholarship, little historiographical work has addressed the Devil. This book demonstrates the significance of the Devil in a Victorian context, emphasizing his pervasiveness and diversity. Drawing on a rich array of primary material, including theological and folkloric works, fiction, newspapers and periodicals, and broadsides and other ephemera, it uses the diabolic to explore the Victorians complex and ambivalent relationship with the supernatural. Both the Devil and hell were theologically contested during the nineteenth century, with an increasing number of both clergymen and laypeople being discomfited by the thought of eternal hellfire. Nevertheless, the Devil continued to play a role in the majority of English denominations, as well as in folklore, spiritualism, occultism, popular culture, literature, and theatre.

The Devil and the Victorians will appeal to readers interested in nineteenth-century English cultural and religious history, as well as the darker side of the supernatural.

Weight: 372g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367709044