Victorian Freaks: The Social Context of Freakery in Britain
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.96 (741 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B0719T5JMG |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 350 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-02-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
While "freaks" have captivated our imagination since well before the 19th century, the Victorians flocked to shows featuring dancing dwarves, bearded ladies, "missing links", and six-legged sheep. As the first study centralizing British culture, this collection discusses figures as varied as Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man"; Daniel Lambert, "King of the Fat Men"; Julia Pastrana, "The Bear Woman"; and Laloo, "The Marvellous Indian Boy" and his embedded, parasitic twin. Collectively, these essays ask how freakery engaged with notions of normalcy and with its Victorian cultural context. Victorian Freaks: The Social Context of Freakery in Britain, edited by Marlene Tromp, turns to that rich nexus, examining the struggle over definitions of "freakery" and the unstable and sometimes conflicting ways in which freakery was understood and deployed. Indeed, this period has been described by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson as the epoch of "consolidation" for freakery: an era of social change, enormously popular freak shows, and taxonomic frenzy. Victorian Freaks contributors examine Victorian culture through the lens of freakery, interpreting the production of the freak against the landscape of capitalist consumption, the medical community, and the politics of empire, sexuality, and art. This book is published by The Ohio State University Press.