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“Afterlives” of Victorian Sensation Novel. Review on: Jessica Cox. Neo-Victorianism and Sensation Fiction. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. 251 p.

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Abstract. The article provides a brief overview of the forms of representation of the Victorian sensational novel genre in contemporary literature, and culture in general. The canonical novels of Collins and Braddon reviewed in Cox’s monograph, along with other examples of this genre, clarify the list of motives, themes, socio-cultural and historical commentaries required for better understanding of the Victorian mentality. The main focus of Cox’s research is a constant reference to the historiographical position of contemporary writers, as well as their strategies for adaptation and appropriation. The author illustrates how fiction writers work with heritage from feminist stance and the specifics of popular genres of fiction (detective and young adult literature). By examining the phenomenon of trauma and memory, the theme of heritage and heredity, and archaeological metaphors, Cox demonstrates the commitment of contemporary authors, their strategy of reinterpreting themes and motives, and self-reflexiveness in the use of classical tradition. Against the background of a huge interest in the problem of Victorianism in contemporary humanities, Cox’s work is interesting, first of all, as an intellectual revision of sensational topicalities that are in demand in today’s popular literature.

Keywords: Neo-Victorian studies, sensation novel, popular culture, trauma, historiographical novel.

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