This book explores how women writers create and question men and masculinity. As men have written women so have women written men. Debate about how men have represented women in literature has a long and distinguished history; however, there has been much less examination of the ways in which women writers depict male characters. This is clearly a notable absence given the recent rise in interest in the field of 18th- and 19th-century masculinities. Women writers were in a unique position to be able to deconstruct and examine cultural norms from a position away from the centre. This enabled women to 'look aslant' at masculinity using their female gaze to expose the ruptures and cracks inherent within the rigid formation of the manly ideal. This collection focuses on women's representations of men and masculinity as they negotiate issues of class, gender, race, and sexuality. Women Writing Men: 1689 to 1869 will be of interest to academics, researchers, and advanced students of Literature, Gender Studies, Critical Theory, and Cultural Studies. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Women's Writing.

A bold study on the very epicentre of Victorian ideology: the white, male body'The Victorian Male Body' examines some of the main expressions and practices of Victorian masculinity and its embodied physicality. The white, and frequently middle class, male body was often normalised as the epitome of Victorian values. Whilst there has been a long and fruitful discussion around the concept of the 'too-visible' body of the colonised subject and the expectations placed on women's bodies, the idealised male body has received less attention in scholarly discussions. Through its examination of a broad range of Victorian literary and cultural texts, this new collection opens up a previously neglected field of study with a scrutinising focus on what is arguably the ideologically most important body in Victorian society. This collection provides a wide variety of essays on different aspects of Victorian literature and culture, considering the variety of forms that this 'idealised' male body actually encompassed: fat, starving or disabled bodies, the ghostly figure, the 'othered' body, and the developing body of the schoolboy. The chapters in this book offer a detailed and clear reassessment of the Victorian concepts of manliness, masculinity, homosociality, morality, action, and adventure.Key FeaturesProvides a wide variety of essays on different aspects of Victorian literature and culture with subjects ranging from nature poetry, disability and pirates, fat and thin men, ghost soldiers and popular magazinesOpens up a neglected field of study with a scrutinizing focus on the ideologically most important body in Victorian societyAllows a re-evaluation of other areas of Victorian culture such as colonialism and debates about class, religion and scienceEnables a detailed and clear reassessment of the Victorian concepts of manliness, masculinity, homosociality, morality, action, and adventure

A bold study on the very epicentre of Victorian ideology: the white, male body The Victorian Male Body examines some of the main expressions and practices of Victorian masculinity and its embodied physicality. The white, and frequently middle class, male body was often normalised as the epitome of Victorian values. Whilst there has been a long and fruitful discussion around the concept of the 'too-visible' body of the colonised subject and the expectations placed on women's bodies, the idealised male body has received less attention in scholarly discussions. Through its examination of a broad range of Victorian literary and cultural texts, this new collection opens up a previously neglected field of study with a scrutinising focus on what is arguably the ideologically most important body in Victorian society. This collection provides a wide variety of essays on different aspects of Victorian literature and culture, considering the variety of forms that this 'idealised' male body actually encompassed: fat, starving or disabled bodies, the ghostly figure, the 'othered' body, and the developing body of the schoolboy. The chapters in this book offer a detailed and clear reassessment of the Victorian concepts of manliness, masculinity, homosociality, morality, action, and adventure. Key Features Provides a wide variety of essays on different aspects of Victorian literature and culture with subjects ranging from nature poetry, disability and pirates, fat and thin men, ghost soldiers and popular magazines Opens up a neglected field of study with a scrutinizing focus on the ideologically most important body in Victorian society Allows a re-evaluation of other areas of Victorian culture such as colonialism and debates about class, religion and science Enables a detailed and clear reassessment of the Victorian concepts of manliness, masculinity, homosociality, morality, action, and adventure