The Omnibus: A Cultural History of Urban Transportation

In the late 1820s, omnibus services revolutionized urban life in Paris, London, and other cities, providing new ways for people to see the urban space and each other. This study examines how the omnibus inspired a vast body of cultural representations that explored the social experience of urban transit, including works by Picasso, Pissarro, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Guy de Maupassant. It analyzes how the omnibus and horse-drawn tram functioned in the cultural imagination of the nineteenth century and considers issues of gender, class, politics, genre, and narrative technique.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 11 May 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

The introduction of omnibus services in the late 1820s marked a significant transformation in urban life across Paris, London, and numerous other cities. These services, initially considered a form of mass transportation accessible to all, revolutionized the way people experienced and interacted with their urban surroundings. As the first mode of collective mobility, omnibuses offered vast segments of the population novel perspectives on both the cityscape and their fellow citizens. This scholarly inquiry delves into the profound impact of the omnibus on the creation of a rich tapestry of cultural representations that explored the distinctive social dynamics of urban transit. These representations took diverse forms, ranging from narratives, plays, and poems to songs, caricatures, and paintings, created by renowned artists and authors such as Picasso, Pissarro, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Guy de Maupassant. By examining this extensive corpus, the book uncovers how the omnibus and horse-drawn tram functioned as central elements in the cultural imagination of the nineteenth century. It also examines the types of stories and values that were projected upon these modes of transportation, shedding light on the complex interplay of gender, class, politics, genre, and narrative techniques in shaping nineteenth-century cultural discourse. Through a comparative approach, this study offers valuable insights into the diverse ways in which omnibus services and their associated cultural representations contributed to the shaping of urban societies and the broader cultural landscape of the nineteenth century.

Weight: 621g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031187070
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023