Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations and Captions for Volume II
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: Gothic in the Nineteenth Century, 1800–1900
- 2.1 Gothic Romanticism and the Summer of 1816
- 2.2 Fantasmagoriana: The Cosmopolitan Gothic and Frankenstein
- 2.3 The Mutation of the Vampire in Nineteenth-Century Gothic
- 2.4 From Romantic Gothic to Victorian Medievalism: 1817 and 1877
- 2.5 Nineteenth-Century Gothic Architectural Aesthetics: A. W. N. Pugin, John Ruskin and William Morris
- 2.6 Gothic Fiction, from Shilling Shockers to Penny Bloods
- 2.7 The Theatrical Gothic in the Nineteenth Century
- 2.8 ‘Spectrology’: Gothic Showmanship in Nineteenth-Century Popular Shows and Media
- 2.9 The Gothic in Victorian Poetry
- 2.10 The Genesis of the Victorian Ghost Story
- 2.11 Charles Dickens and the Gothic
- 2.12 Victorian Domestic Gothic Fiction
- 2.13 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Spain
- 2.14 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Italy
- 2.15 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Scotland
- 2.16 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Ireland
- 2.17 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century America
- 2.18 Nineteenth-Century British and American Gothic and the History of Slavery
- 2.19 Genealogies of Monstrosity: Darwin, the Biology of Crime and Nineteenth-Century British Gothic Literature
- 2.20 Gothic and the Coming of the Railways
- 2.21 Gothic Imperialism at the Fin de siècle
- Select Bibliography
- Index
2.20 - Gothic and the Coming of the Railways
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 July 2020
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- The Cambridge History of the Gothic
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations and Captions for Volume II
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: Gothic in the Nineteenth Century, 1800–1900
- 2.1 Gothic Romanticism and the Summer of 1816
- 2.2 Fantasmagoriana: The Cosmopolitan Gothic and Frankenstein
- 2.3 The Mutation of the Vampire in Nineteenth-Century Gothic
- 2.4 From Romantic Gothic to Victorian Medievalism: 1817 and 1877
- 2.5 Nineteenth-Century Gothic Architectural Aesthetics: A. W. N. Pugin, John Ruskin and William Morris
- 2.6 Gothic Fiction, from Shilling Shockers to Penny Bloods
- 2.7 The Theatrical Gothic in the Nineteenth Century
- 2.8 ‘Spectrology’: Gothic Showmanship in Nineteenth-Century Popular Shows and Media
- 2.9 The Gothic in Victorian Poetry
- 2.10 The Genesis of the Victorian Ghost Story
- 2.11 Charles Dickens and the Gothic
- 2.12 Victorian Domestic Gothic Fiction
- 2.13 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Spain
- 2.14 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Italy
- 2.15 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Scotland
- 2.16 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century Ireland
- 2.17 The Gothic in Nineteenth-Century America
- 2.18 Nineteenth-Century British and American Gothic and the History of Slavery
- 2.19 Genealogies of Monstrosity: Darwin, the Biology of Crime and Nineteenth-Century British Gothic Literature
- 2.20 Gothic and the Coming of the Railways
- 2.21 Gothic Imperialism at the Fin de siècle
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Though railways have been frequently depicted as icons of the progressive and the dynamic within British Victorian fiction, their secular and timetabled culture is, in fact, more often than not freighted with a disruptive Gothic presence. This chapter begins by noting how the construction of the railways in the nineteenth century literally impacted upon the built and cultural environments, laying waste to familiar landmarks and marking the bodies of those who travel as well as those who serve the engines of progress. The chapter considers the theme of physical violence and sexual interference within the closed space of the railway carriage, making reference to popular newspaper reportage and erotic fiction before engaging with the issue of psychological trauma and isolation, particularly among those whose task is as much to protect, as to transport, the travelling public.
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- The Cambridge History of the Gothic , pp. 445 - 462Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020