My blog Victorian Circle began in 2009 as an effort to keep my writing and analytical skills fresh while preparing to go to law school. The “Circle” part of the name is meant to bring to mind a discussion, a throwing around of ideas. My goal is to highlight various pieces from the 1830s to the early 20th century. Along with novels, I also write about poetry and social essays. Examples of the topics I have addressed are “A Woman’s Vocation” in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh and “Lucy’s Female Attraction” in Charlotte Brontë’s Villette.
One of the appealing features of Victorian literature is the great variety of the writing. As a generic description, there are the social novels of the early Victorian period, the sensational works of the middle period, and the decadent literature of the later period. Mixed in is the wittiness of Trollope, the sardonicism of Thackeray, and the intellectualism of Eliot. Combined with the establishment of science fiction as a literary genre, there really is something for everyone!