Victorian Contingencies: Experiments in Literature, Science, and Play

In the 19th century, Britons embraced contingency, challenging traditional narratives and upending conclusions through scientific, literary, and cultural experiments. Tina Young Choi's book explores how scientists, novelists, and consumers experimented with cause and effect, past and present, undermining routine certainties. It pairs novelists with physicists, introduces possibility and probability into narratives, and explores popular board games and visual entertainments that encouraged Victorians to navigate a world made uncertain.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 23 November 2021
Publisher: Stanford University Press

Contingency is a pervasive phenomenon that permeates modern politics, finance, and culture. In the 19th century, a contingent mindset emerged among the British population, leading to a significant rewriting of familiar narratives and the overturning of long-held conclusions. This transformative shift was facilitated by the adoption of a contingent thinking approach, which encouraged individuals to approach situations with an open mind and a willingness to consider alternative possibilities.

The book Victorian Contingencies delves into the intricate ways in which scientists, novelists, and consumers engaged in novel formal and material experiments with cause and effect, past and present. These experiments actively undermined the routine certainties of the time, challenging the established norms and beliefs. Tina Young Choi, the author of the book, traces contingency across a wide range of materials and media, including newspaper advertisements, children's stories, renowned novels, scientific discoveries, and technological innovations.

Choi demonstrates how Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin reinvented geological and natural histories as spaces for temporal and causal experimentation. They challenged the traditional understanding of the Earth's history, introducing the concept of gradual change and the influence of natural forces. At the same time, the nascent insurance industry influenced Charles Babbage's computational designs for a machine capable of responding to a contingent future. Choi pairs novelists George Eliot and Lewis Carroll with physicist James Clerk Maxwell, showcasing how they introduced possibility and probability into once-assured literary and scientific narratives.

Furthermore, the book explores the popular board games and pre-cinematic visual entertainments that encouraged Victorians to navigate a world that had become increasingly uncertain. These cultural artifacts provided a means for individuals to confront and manage the uncertainties of their time, fostering a sense of resilience and adaptability.

By locating contingency within these cultural contexts, Victorian Contingencies invites a profound and multidisciplinary reassessment of the longer histories of causality, closure, and chance. It encourages readers to explore alternative perspectives and challenge the assumptions that have shaped our understanding of the world. This book serves as a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in the complexities of the 19th century and the enduring impact of contingent thinking on modern society.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503629288