Reading Victorian Illustration, 1855-1875

The first chapter discusses illustration studies as a new academic discipline focused on the historical and cultural contexts of visual material associated with text. The field is a confluence of analysis and interpretation pertaining to visual and literary arts and as such is of interest to a broad audience. Editors Goldman (English, communication, and philosophy, Cardiff U., UK) and Cooke (independent writer, collector, and teacher specializing in illustration) both have been intensely involved with the subject as academics and through museum affiliations. This book presents nine contributions on topics including the illustrated gift book of the 1860s, death and domesticity in Victorian illustration, vestiges of corpses in Pre-Raphaelite illustrations, and collectors of wood-engraved illustrations from 1860s periodicals ("spoils of the lumber room"), among others. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Paul Goldman is Honorary Professor in the Department of English, Communication, and Philosophy at Cardiff University and Associate Fellow at the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, at the University of London, UK, and Simon Cooke, formerly of Birmingham University, is an independent scholar living in the UK.