In this episode I'm joined by my Dracula Vibes panel, Drs Madeline Potter, Theadora Jean and Daniel Kasper! We discuss how Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's novella Carmilla influenced Dracula, and the legacy Le Fanu's work has today. We consider the queer elements of the work, as well as the way Anglo-Irish identity features in Le Fanu's writing. We think…

In this episode I'm joined by Natasha Booth-Johnson, who is researching into the intersections between queerness and politics in the works of nineteenth-century writers Edith Simcox, Mona Caird, and Isabella Ormston-Ford. We discuss how these writers were active in political movements and the ways in which their work also connects with queerness (a…

In this episode I'm joined by Valentina Gaio. Like myself, Valentina's research interests are broad, from popular culture to crime and horror, and we initially discuss the contemporary 18th century media depiction of the French Revolution. Our main topic today, however, centres on Victorian views of food (specifically slum inhabitants' diets), and …

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Danielle Dove, whose research focuses on dress and fashion history, material culture, and literary celebrity. We consider how dress can be linked to the uncanny, utilising new materialism and object-oriented ontology theories to explore the idea that objects (such as items of dress) have a form of agency, and how ne…

In this episode I'm joined by Céleste Callen, who researches into time and temporal experience in 19th century literature. Specifically, we discuss her PhD which utilises the works of Henri Bergson as a lens through which to read the works of Charles Dickens. We discuss how for Bergson, time is a subjective experience rather than linear, and how th…

In this episode I'm joined by a special panel: Dr Madeline Potter, Theadora Jean, and Dr Daniel Kasper, who all research into Gothic literature (specifically, Dracula!) We discuss how their interest in Dracula began, and the different academic (and side) projects they have worked on. We focus on the positive and negative aspects of adaptations, and…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Tom Ue, who has researched into authors such as George Gissing, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edward Prime-Stevenson. We begin by discussing how Tom developed his PhD from his previous studies into George Gissing, and how Gissing's diaries show how well-read and well-connected he was. We consider Gissing's sh…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Louise Creechan, who has researched into Victorian and Neo-Victorian Studies. We begin by discussing her PhD in illiteracy and how the nineteenth century saw the rise of mass literacy in England, and the creation of 'normative' standards of achievement. This coincided with capitalist models for a 'productive workfor…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Richard Jorge Fernández, who researches into the nineteenth-century Irish Gothic, especially the short story. We talk about how his interest in Irish literature began, and also about his current project which compares Galician literature and Irish literature, due to his own roots, and the similarities in these regio…

In this episode I'm joined by Manon Burz-Labrande, who researches into the circulation of penny bloods and penny dreadfuls. We talk about how her research looks at how there are issues around canonicity, due to many publications being hidden still, meaning we return to the 'classics' . We observe how there were different ways of circulation beyond …

In this episode I'm joined by Azza Hussen, who researches into the works of Charles Dickens. We talk about how her resarch looks at how Dickens' work engaged with or challenged contemporary 19th century dream theories, in novels like Oliver Twist, Dombey and Son. We observe how some 19th century dream theories had a moralistic viewpoint, in that mo…

In this episode I'm joined by Alora Hayward, who researches into Victorian literary works such as Christina Rossetti, George Gissing, Amy Levy and Charlotte Bronte. We talk about academic study in the pandemic and how this has helped us to reevaluate things, and also how nineteenth century attitudes towards gender, class and sexuality can be reflec…

In this episode I'm joined by Caterina Liberace, who researches into the use of Victorian architecture and décor in twentieth and twenty-first century Gothic horror. We consider how the archetypal haunted house we now associate as a Gothic house, is an trans-Atlantic incarnation, and emerged after WWII. We think about how the country house exemplif…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Eleanor Dobson, who researches into the reception of ancient Egypt during the 19th and 20th centuries. We discuss the centenary of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, and the stories around the famous 'curses'. We consider what 19th and 20th century Egyptologists were reading,…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Barbara Franchi, who researches into neo-Victorian fiction, intertextuality and echoes of Empire. We consider issues such as the risks of nostalgia in society, and the enduring legacy of the 19th century in neo-Victorian works. We discuss the idea of a neo-Victorian 'canon' and how literature and critical scholarshi…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Dominique Gracia, who had worked on repetitions and revisions, and adaptation theory. We discuss the influence of Sherlock Holmes on modern TV detectives in series such as Sherlock and Vienna Blood. We observe the ways in which we see works through adaptations, and how neo-Victorian works may influence how we think …

In this episode I'm joined by Deborah Siddoway, who researches into how the nineteenth century English novel was both informed by and influenced the path of divorce law reform in England. We discuss how all her authors had complex relationships with marriage, and how this is reflected in their works. We also discuss how the no-fault divorce was end…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Anna Gasperini, where we discuss her work on children's literature and child nutrition. We discuss how food in children's literature sublimates and represents a lot of things, including 'taboo' subjects. Children's literature was previously seen as unsophisticated in the academy (like fantasy), which segues into a b…

In this episode I'm joined by Michelle Ravenscroft, who has recently co-edited the third volume of the popular Talking Bodies series. We chat about our shared experience at Talking Bodies and how Michelle's MA thesis on identity formation in adolescents in the long 19th century literature was turned into a chapter. We also discuss her foundational …

In this episode I'm joined by Michelle Reynolds, who researches into representations of the New Woman in fin de siècle illustration. We discuss how the New Woman was featured in art, specifically in illustration. We observe how fairy tales writers like Evelyn Sharp used these to push forward ideas about feminism, reflecting what was in New Woman fi…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Clare Stainthorp, who researches into nineteenth-century atheist, secular and agnostic movements, and their periodical culture. We discuss how pamphlets and periodical culture helped not only to provide a space in which like-minded individuals could discuss freethought ideas, but enabled them to form a community and…

In this episode I'm joined by Laura Demaude, who is currently finishing her MA dissertation on gaslighting and the Gothic. We discuss how gaslighting is represented in Victorian and Neo-Victorian texts written by female authors (such as Bronte's Jane Eyre). We also note how physical gaslighting was used to influence this effect, especially in the f…

In this episode I'm joined by Duncan McNulty, founder and provost of the Bartitsu and Antagonistics Forum (BAF) . We discuss how Bartitsu was founded by Barton Wright in the 19th century, how it is presented now within the BAF and other organisations. We consider how the 19th century is still relevant, within pursuits like Bartistu and within steam…

In this episode I'm joined by Laure Nermel, who is finishing her PhD on Elizabeth Siddal,. We discuss how the Pre-Raphaelites are portrayed in Neo-Victorian fiction (novels, but also TV shows and plays), especially the women who were connected to the movement. We discuss the value of Siddal's work in her own right (not just as a model but as an art…

In this episode I'm joined by Nat Reeve, who is not only keeping busy with a PhD on Elizabeth Siddal, but is a Neo-Victorian novelist! We talk about their debut novel Nettleblack, the first of two novels with Cipher Press. Both books follow the adventures of fictional queer Victorians in an eccentric rural setting. We discuss how the novels came ab…

Episode 16 - Dr Nicole C Dittmer and Sophie Raine - Penny Dreadfuls and the Gothic In this episode I'm joined by Nicole and Sophie, who have a forthcoming collection called Penny Dreadfuls and the Gothic; or, Investigations of Pernicious Tales of Terror. We chat about how their individual interests in the Gothic emerged, how they came to work toget…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Éadaoin Agnew, where we discuss her research into Victorian writers of colour (particularly within India, featuring writers who published in English). We discuss the need for decolonising the curriculum in all areas of the academy, how literary studies is still Western-centric, and how institutional barriers like ed…

Episode 14 - Dr Oindrila Ghosh - Thomas Hardy In this episode I'm joined by Dr Oindrila Ghosh where we discuss her extensive research on the works of Thomas Hardy. We discuss how her interest in literature began in her education in India, from high school into PhD and beyond. Particularly, we talk about how broadening the academic field to "non-Wes…

In this episode I'm joined by Hollie Geary-Jones, where we discuss her PhD project on sex work in 19th century France and England - the differences and similarities in how these people were treated and how they pursued sex work. In particular, we discuss how Hollie's work examines dress, infection (and how sex workers were linked to public health a…

In this episode I'm joined by Chris Woodyard, where we discuss how people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries dealt with death. How death was depicted and discussed in the press (including crude jokes), the issues surrounding funeral costs and the idea of a respectable funeral. We also discuss how mourning crepe was used for political p…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Jen Baker, where we discuss her interest in the spectral child and representations of the child in death. We talk about how the legacy of these representations in the nineteenth century linger to this day, through angelic suggestions in Facebook memorials, to the horrific representations of the demonic child in horr…

In this episode I'm joined by Samantha, where we discuss her novels, Mr Dickens and His Carol, and the recent Love and Fury! We talk about how her career in screenwriting aided her writing process, how she wrote her first novel, and how the new release celebrates Mary Wollstonecraft. While Wollstonecraft was just outside of the 19th century, we dis…

Episode 9 - Emily Gallagher - Representations of Victorian Women's Dress In this episode I'm joined by Emily, where we discuss her research into the history and representation of Victorian women's dress post-1901. We chat about the ways in which dress and dress objects are preserved and how this has implications for certain narratives of dress - fo…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Dany van Dam, where we discuss her research into Neo-Victorian works and postcolonial approaches. We talk about how her research interests developed, the Western-centric focus of the field, and how we can consider new ways to broaden the field. About my guest: Dany has degrees in English and History, and a research …

In this episode I'm joined by Rachel M Friars, where we discuss her research into queer Neo-Victorian works. We talk about diaries and correspondence and how this provides an interesting insight into queer identities (such as Anne Lister), and how neo-Victorianism reflects contemporary anxieties, whilst considering the enduring legacies of the Vict…

In this episode I'm joined by Suzie Lennox, where we discuss her extensive research into the practice of body snatching. She'll tell us about prevention methods, some intriguing tales and escapades of the 'resurrection men', and why she continues to be fascinated by this 'taboo' subject. TRIGGER WARNING: this episode deals with issues around death,…

In this episode I'm joined by Brontë Schiltz, where we discuss her interest in the associations between illness and queer experience in Victorian fiction such as Vernon Lee's work, and the explorations of economics in the penny dreadful, The String of Pearls and its adaptations. About my guest: Brontë has a BA in English and Creative Writing from R…

In this episode I'm joined by Dr Helen Davies, where we discuss her previous work on neo-Victorianism and freakery, her current project on Down's Syndrome and neo-Victorianism, and how neo-Victorianism has interested her (and her take on why we're still influenced by the 19th century). TRIGGER WARNING: contains conversation about disabilities, incl…

In this episode I'm joined by Paulus Linnaeus, a graphic novellist who has published The Demonhuntress series. We discuss how his incredible experiences led him to change career, and how he developed The Demonhuntress series. Our chat centres on his recent publications which centred around Jack the Ripper, as well as the upcoming second full-length…

In this episode I'm joined by Stephanie Farnsworth, who researches into mutants and body horror in video games. We'll discuss her research and the influences of the 19th century (particularly, the Gothic) in creative works such as video games. About my guest: Stephanie Farnsworth is a PhD candidate at the University of Sunderland, and her research …

In this episode I discuss my research interests; what led me into research and neo-Victorian studies. I talk about my PhD project, the texts I am working with, and what thoughts I have about the influence of the nineteenth century. Episode Credits: Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma Catan Music: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained…

Look around. What do you see? How do the Victorians continue to influence our lives, our society, our entertainment? Join Emma Catan as we explore the legacy of the Victorians. Where fiction becomes fact. This episode is the series trailer! Join me as I briefly explain why I came up with this podcast, as a way to navigate my learning journey as a P…