English scholars from North America and Europe examine the expatriate Italian family of painters and poets in Victorian England. They consider Italy and Italianness, aesthetics in a commercial world, faith in an age of science, radical poetics, and literary tradition and the Rossetti legacy. The 16 essays are not indexed. Distributed in the US by S

One of the foremost literary and artistic families of the nineteenth century, the Rossettis had a striking impact upon the life and culture of the age. This new interdisciplinary collection of writing explores their achievements in the context of the Victorian era and in the light of modern cultural and literary criticism."Outsiders Looking In" considers the position that the Anglo-Italian Rossettis occupied in the cultural melee of mid-Victorian London, a status that was both central and fringe owing to their dual nationality. The essays in this volume demonstrate how the family members -- from the celebrated Dante Gabriel and Christina to the comparatively neglected Maria and William -- drew upon a shared cultural experience, and describe how each contributed to the intellectual debates of the age and played a significant role in their various fields.Bringing together significant contributions from some of the most renowned experts in their fields, "Outsiders Looking In" provides important new perspectives on this multi-talented family and their brilliant legacy.

The history of science provides numerous examples of the way in which imagination, religion and mythology have sometimes helped and sometimes hindered scientific progress. While established ideas and beliefs clearly held back the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo and Darwin, the intuitive knowledge found in mythology, art and religion has often proved useful in indicating new ways in which to explore or represent new knowledge of the world. Stories, fables and images have contributed to drawing a fuller picture of the past, understanding the present and imagining the future. The essays in this book, written by academics, writers and artists from various fields ranging from La Fontaine's fables to nanotechnology and modern art, all point out the ways in which imagination works its way into all the fields of knowledge. At both ends of the spectrum, the hybrid nature of the chimera emerges as a pivotal symbol of both man's predation instinct and a powerful symbol of his fear of extinction. This interdisciplinary book, weaving together visual representation, literature, mysticism, and science, will appeal to historians of science, philosophy, art and religion. It will also be of interest to scholars in cultural studies and anthropology. Drawing on recent scientific research and artistic production, the volume will additionally interest a wider audience wishing to learn more about man's obsession and fascination with the potent symbolism of dinosaurs and dragons and all hybrid forms generated by the human imagination and recent technology.