Miniature literary marketplaces: Conceptions of authorship in Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s fiction

McKenzie, Helen 2020. Miniature literary marketplaces: Conceptions of authorship in Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s fiction. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Drawing together Braddon’s writing and the rapidly evolving Victorian literary world, this thesis examines the remarkable number of fictional authors in Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s novels. Miniature literary marketplaces are found in the pages of The Doctor’s Wife, The Lady’s Mile, Birds of Prey, Charlotte’s Inheritance, Dead-Sea Fruit, Hostages to Fortune, Vixen, One Thing Needful, His Darling Sin, and The Infidel, an array of novels stretching across Braddon’s exceptional career. The first chapter traces Braddon’s life and literary career as she negotiated between capitalising on her (in)famous status as queen of sensation fiction and influentially participating in contemporary literary fashions. The second chapter explores the practicalities of the literary profession illustrated in Braddon’s novels. Braddon unflinchingly acknowledges the marriages, households, and collaborations intertwined with professional authorship. Serialisation was integral to the Victorian literary profession and chapter three hones in on Dead-Sea Fruit’s serialisation in Belgravia; I examine Braddon as author and editor strategically confronting her position as target for fears surrounding the commodification of literature and anxieties about the place of women writers in the Victorian literary sphere. The final chapter makes the unlikely pairing of Mary Elizabeth Braddon and Sarah Grand, and their metafictional novels The Infidel and The Beth Book. Despite their differences, these women writers used their fictional writers to consciously enter contemporary conversations on female authorship. The project examines how Braddon’s metafiction depicts not only her experience as a writer but her understanding of the multifarious Victorian literary marketplace, love of literature, and commitment to forging a commercially successful career. Braddon’s conflicting desires and contentious place in the periodical press are echoed in her selfconscious and often confrontational representations of authorship. This thesis explores these fascinating fictional writers as a window into Braddon’s career and the Victorian literary marketplace.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 February 2021
Last Modified:	27 Sep 2022 01:18
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/138511

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