Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Eng 150: U.S. Literature And Thought (19th Century American Literature), Susan Amper, Susan Amper

Open Educational Resources

19^th century American Literature

19th century American Literature 1835-1870

Why do so many women in 19^th century American fiction end up dead?

Why are so many men in 19^th century American fiction single, or why do they murder their wives to gain that status?

Why can no superhero have a wife?

The answers to all these questions and more can be found in American literature.

America in the 19^th c. had a literary renaissance, and the works in this course include some of the greatest American fiction ever written—and virtually of all it was produced in …

Memento Mori: Victorian Death Culture Through Murder, Morbidity, And Mourning, Jemma M. Kloss

History Honors Projects

Death loomed large in Victorian London. Murder dominated not only headlines but also popular media such as fiction and theater, as London grappled with regular outbreaks of disease, and personal mourning turned into a show of fashion and wealth. Where did this preoccupation with death come from, and what can it tell us about Victorian society as a whole? While these specific changes resulted from cultural accumulations, many of them stemmed from how London itself grew during this period. The industrialization, urbanization, and overall development of London into a thriving metropolis changed the ways its citizens interacted with death.