Neo-Victorianism refers to a contemporary cultural,

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

, and literary movement that engages with, reimagines, and rewrites the literature, history, and aesthetics of the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

period. Emerging prominently in the late 20th century, Neo-Victorianism is characterized by its revisionist approach to Victorian values, its interest in marginalized voices, and its use of postmodern narrative techniques such as

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

, and

intertextuality Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody, Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref ...

. This movement spans literature,

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

, and

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

and reflects on the past to simultaneously make a commentary on present-day concerns related to gender, class, empire, sexuality, and trauma.

In arts and crafts

Examples of crafts made in this style would include push-button

cordless telephone A cordless telephone or portable telephone has a portable telephone handset that connects by radio to a base station connected to the public telephone network. The operational range is limited, usually to the same building or within some short ...

s made to look like antique wall-mounted phones,

CD player A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital audio, digital optical disc data storage format. CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982. CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such a ...

s resembling old time radios, Victorianesque furniture, and

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

-style clothing. In

neo-romantic The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in philosophy, literature, music, painting, and architecture, as well as social movements, that exist after and incorporate elements from the era of Romanticism. It has been used ...

and fantasy art, one can often see the elements of Victorian aesthetic values. There is also a strongly emerging genre of

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

art. McDermott & McGough are a couple of contemporary artists whose work is all about a recreation of life in the nineteenth century: they only use the ultimate technology available, and since they are supposed to live anachronistically, this means the use of earlier photographic processes, and maintaining the illusion of a life stuck in the ways of a forgotten era.

Works of fiction

Neo-Victorian works of fiction are creative narrative works set in the Victorian period, but written, interpreted or reproduced by more contemporary artists. Many neo-Victorian novels have reinterpreted, reproduced and rewritten Victorian culture. Significant texts include ''The French Lieutenant’s Woman'' (

John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. After leaving Oxford Uni ...

, 1969), ''Possession'' (

A. S. Byatt Dame Antonia Susan Duffy (; 24 August 1936 – 16 November 2023), known professionally by her former married name, A.S. Byatt ( ), was an English critic, novelist, poet and short-story writer. Her books have been translated into more than thirt ...

, 1990), ''Arthur and George'' (

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with ''Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and ''Arthu ...

, 2005), ''Dorian, An Imitation'' (

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English writer, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Se ...

, 2002) ''

Jack Maggs ''Jack Maggs'' (1997) is a novel by Australian novelist Peter Carey. Plot summary Set in 19th century London, ''Jack Maggs'' is a reworking of the Charles Dickens novel ''Great Expectations''. The story centres around Jack Maggs (the equivale ...

'' ( Peter Carey, 1997), ''

Wide Sargasso Sea ''Wide Sargasso Sea'' is a 1966 historical novel by Dominican-British author Jean Rhys. The novel is set in Jamaica between the 1830-40s and serves as a postcolonial and feminist prequel to Charlotte Brontë's novel ''Jane Eyre'' (1847), descr ...

'' (

Jean Rhys Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she resided mainly in England, where she was sent for her educa ...

, 1966). Recent neo-Victorian novels have often been adapted to the screen, from ''The French Lieutenant’s Woman'' (Karel Reisz, 1981) to the television adaptations of

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sara ...

(''

Tipping the Velvet ''Tipping the Velvet'' is a 1998 debut novel by Welsh novelist Sarah Waters. A historical fiction, historical novel set in England during the 1890s, it tells a coming-of-age story about a young woman named Nan who falls in love with a Cross-dr ...

'', BBC2, 2002, '' Fingersmith'', BBC1, 2005, ''

Affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Pa ...

'' ITV, 2008) and

Michel Faber Michel Faber (born 13 April 1960) is a Dutch-born writer of English-language fiction, including his 2002 novel ''The Crimson Petal and the White'', and '' Under the Skin'' (2000) which was adapted for film by Jonathan Glazer, starring Scarlett ...

(''

The Crimson Petal and the White ''The Crimson Petal and the White'' is a 2002 novel by Michel Faber set in Victorian era, Victorian England. The title is from an 1847 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson entitled "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal", the opening line of which is "Now slee ...

'', BBC 1, 2011). These narratives may indicate a of neo-Victorianism, and have been called "in-yer-face" neo-Victorianism (Voigts-Virchow). Recent productions of neo-Victorianism on screen include

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

’s

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

films and TV series such as '' Sherlock'', ''

Ripper Street ''Ripper Street'' is a British mystery drama television series set in Whitechapel in the East End of London starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, and MyAnna Buring. It begins in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack t ...

'', ''

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

'', ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...

'' and ''

Penny Dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...

''. The neo-Victorian formula can be expanded to include Edwardian consumer culture (''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

'', '' The Paradise and

Mr Selfridge ''Mr Selfridge'' is a British period drama television series about Harry Gordon Selfridge and his department store, Selfridge & Co, in London, set from 1908 to 1928. It was co-produced by ITV Studios and Masterpiece/ WGBH for broadcast on I ...

'').

In dress and behaviour

Many who have adopted Neo-Victorian style have also adopted Victorian behavioural affectations, seeking to imitate standards of Victorian conduct, pronunciation, interpersonal interaction. Some even go so far as to embrace certain Victorian habits such as shaving with

straight razors A straight razor is a razor with a blade that can fold into its handle. They are also called open razors and cut-throat razors. The predecessors of the modern straight razors include bronze razors, with cutting edges and fixed handles, produced ...

, riding

penny farthing The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds, owing to it travelling a large distance for every ro ...

s, exchanging calling cards, and using

fountain pen A fountain pen is a writing instrument that uses a metal nib (pen), nib to apply Fountain pen ink, water-based ink, or special pigment ink—suitable for fountain pens—to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal r ...

s to write letters in florid prose sealed by wax.

Gothic fashion Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the goth subculture. A dark, sometimes morbid, fashion and style of clothing, dress, typical gothic fashion includes black Hair coloring, dyed hair and black clothes. Both male and female go ...

sometimes incorporates Neo-Victorian style. Neo-Victorianism is embraced in, but also quite distinguished from, the

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

Aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

and

Madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French la ...

fashions popular in Japan, and which are becoming more noticeable in Europe.

Social conservatives

Neo-Victorian

s are also popular in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

among cultural conservatives and

social conservatives Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instit ...

. Books such as ''The Benevolence of Manners: Recapturing the Lost Art of Gracious Victorian Living'' call for a return to

Victorian morality Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of the middle class in 19th-century Britain, the Victorian era. Victorian values emerged in all social classes and reached all facets of Victorian living. The values of the period—which ...

. The term Neo-Victorian is also commonly used in a derogatory way towards social conservatives. Many of the things that seem commonplace in modern life began in the Victorian era, such as sponsorship, sensational journalism and popular merchandise.

Research

In academia, Neo-Victorianism has become an established area of study, with growing interest across literary and cultural studies. The field is supported by dedicated scholarly platforms, most notably the peer-reviewed journal ''Neo-Victorian Studies'', which publishes interdisciplinary research on the reception, adaptation, and transformation of Victorian culture in modern media. In September 2007, The University of Exeter explored the phenomenon in a major international conference titled ''Neo-Victorianism: The Politics and Aesthetics of Appropriation''. Academic studies include ''Neo-Victorianism: The Victorians in the Twenty-First Century, 1999–2009''. Other foundational texts of neo-Victorian criticism are Kucich and Sadoff (2000), Kaplan (2007), Kohlke (2008-), Munford and Young (2009), Mitchell (2010), Davies (2012), Whelehan (2012), Kleinecke-Bates (2014), Böhm-Schnitker and Gruss (2014), Tomaiuolo (2018), and others.

In popular culture and literature

Neo-Victorianism can also be seen in the growing

genre of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

and in music performers such as

Emilie Autumn Emilie Autumn Liddell (born September 22, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, author, and violinist. Autumn's musical style is described by her as "Fairy Pop", "Fantasy Rock" or "Victoriandustrial". It is influenced by glam rock and ...

. Neo-Victorianism is also popular with, and in many ways prefigured by, those who are interested in

Victoriana Victoriana is a term used to refer to material culture related to the Victorian period (1837–1901). It often refers to decorative objects, but can also describe a variety of artifacts from the era including graphic design, publications, ph ...

and

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historical uniforms and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a histor ...

. Neo-Victorian details appear in ''

The Diamond Age ''The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a Bildungsroman or coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, set in a future world in wh ...

'' by

Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work explores mathemati ...

, in which Neo-Victorians are one of the main groups of protagonists. Carnival Diablo is a Neo-Victorian circus sideshow that has been touring North America for 20 years. Unhallowed Metropolis is a

roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eith ...

based in a Neo-Victorian setting.

In arts and crafts

Works of fiction

In dress and behaviour

Social conservatives

Research

In popular culture and literature

See also

References

Further reading