Victorian Cosmopolitanism and English Catholicity in the Mid-Century Novel argues that the Creedal doctrines of the communion of saints and the holy Catholic Church provided Victorian novelistsboth Roman Catholic and Protestantwith a means of exploring religious forms of cosmopolitanism. Building on research exploring the divisions between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism in Victorian literature and culture, Teresa Huffman Traver considers the extent to which anti-Catholicism, domesticity, and national identity were linked. Huffman Traver connects this research with cosmopolitan theory, and analyzes how the conception of Catholicity could be used to reach beyond national identity towards a transnational community. Investigating the idea of a rooted cosmopolitanism, grounded in the local and limited in scope, this Pivot book offers a new angle on how religion, domesticity, and national identity were constructed in nineteenth-century British culture.

Provides background on the religious controversies and conflicts of the late 1840s to early 1860s Draws on Victorian domestic fiction Applies cosmopolitan theory to understand the interplay between Catholicism, Protestantism, and English national identity

Autorentext

Teresa Huffman Traver is Associate Professor of English at The California State University, Chico, USA. She specializes in Victorian literature and children's literature. Her work has appeared in Literature/Film Quarterly, Victorian Review, and Women's Writing.

Klappentext

Victorian Cosmopolitanism and English Catholicity in the Mid-Century Novel argues that the Creedal doctrines of "the communion of saints" and the "holy Catholic Church" provided Victorian novelists-both Roman Catholic and Protestant-with a means of exploring religious forms of cosmopolitanism. Building on research exploring the divisions between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism in Victorian literature and culture, Teresa Huffman Traver considers the extent to which anti-Catholicism, domesticity, and national identity were linked. Huffman Traver connects this research with cosmopolitan theory, and analyzes how the conception of Catholicity could be used to reach beyond national identity towards a transnational community. Investigating the idea of a "rooted" cosmopolitanism, grounded in the local and limited in scope, this Pivot book offers a new angle on how religion, domesticity, and national identity were constructed in nineteenth-century British culture.

Inhalt

One: Introduction: A Home for the Lonely".- Two: Shipwrecks, House-fires, and Mourning Rings.- Three: Losing a Family, Gaining a Church.- Four: Conversion, Duality, and Vocation: The Perpetual Curate.- Five: Home by Michaelmas: Yonge's Tractarian Domestic.- Six: Conclusion: Desire of Nations.