This enormous volume is the first comprehensive encyclopedia of fantastic literature of the nineteenth century. From detective fiction to historical novels, from well-known authors like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to Russian newspaper serials and Chinese martial arts novels, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASTIC VICTORIANA is a truly exhaustive look at every aspect of fantastic literature in the days of Queen Victoria. Readers of science fiction and fantasy will be surprised to find here the roots of genres thought to be strictly contemporary, and students of literature will be amazed at the breadth and scope of writings produced in the Victoriana era. This is an invaluable reference, and truly one-of-a-kind.
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Reference librarian Nevins is completely at home among the myriad characters of Victorian fantasy literature. An aficionado of the genre, he maps the genealogy of dream-world characters, among them Jules Verne's Captain Nemo, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Lewis Carroll's Alice, Edgar Allan Poe's Roderick Usher, Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, Robert Louis Stevenson's Edward Hyde, and Mary Shelley's Victor Frankenstein. Into the company of illustrious fantasy figures, Nevins inserts essays on topics such as Doppelganger, The Gothic, Historical romance, and Sensational novel. Deft analysis of the likes of Hajji Baba, Buffalo Bill, the Phantom Child, Rima, and Sweeney Todd draws the reader into nooks and cul-de-sacs of adventure and mayhem. Surprising omissions from the vast list of entries are comments on sci-fi and the mad scientist stereotype and entries on the phantasms of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
Entries are arranged alphabetically and often provide considerable detail. In his foreword, Nevins explains that the book is "subjective, not objective," and "prescriptive rather than descriptive"--claims born out by the degree of critical discussion. Contributing to the book's value to students and researchers are publication data and frequent cross-references. The text disappoints, however, in the omission of source lists. Back matter offers a limited bibliography and no index for surveying authors, titles, series, and publishers. Despite these limitations, this very readable volume is a sound addition to the reference collections on both Victorian and fantasy literature. Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Jess Nevins, a reference librarian at Sam Houston State University, is the author of Heroes & Monsters and A Blazing World, the two volume companion editions to the popular graphic novel series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He lives in Huntsville, Texas.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Staggering Scope, Unflagging Pluck, Inexhaustible Vril,
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This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana (Hardcover)
Given that this book spans nearly two centuries -- from the beginning of the Gothic in 1765 to the end of Victoria's reign in 1901 -- and the fantastic output of a dozen countries and eight languages, what editor in the world could comprehensively edit Nevins for content? I caught precisely one notable factual lacuna out of possibly 200 entries I was qualified to judge -- perhaps three or four more have slipped in somewhere else. Likewise, Nevins' literary and editorial judgements are sharp and sound, saving only the (admittedly serious) failure to properly index or organize these vast charts of wonder. Razor-keen analyses of general topics -- e.g., "The Edisonade," "Proto-Mysteries" -- complement the litany of names from Captain Nemo all the way down to the Denver Doll, from Axël to Kim to Natty Bumppo.
This level of sheer bull-headed quality is simply unheard of in these debased times, when sloppy, hamfisted graphics (complete with unneeded color illustrations) or cowardly, modish trend-watching are more the order of the day. Both ladled out, of course, at the expense of completeness, forthrightness, and authorial judgement. This is not Jess Nevins' way. His way is that of Inexhaustible Vril and Undaunted Pluck. If something is worth doing, it is worth overdoing; we must err on the side of prolixity, capacity, and emphasis. These are the watchwords that seemingly guided Nevins through the moldering stacks of far-flung archives, across unexplored jungles of foreign newsprint, through the smoky dens of the Mysterious East and the stygian reaches of Subterranean Paris. And the results of his travels, his researches, and yes, his blunt opinions, have been brought back to civilization and once more exposed to the light of modernity. These heroes, villains, monsters, fiendish devices, and lost races -- the dubious shards and priceless finds alike from our graveyard of gods and heroes -- have been comprehensively collected, labeled, annotated, classified, lined up in rows, introduced, prefaced, and put in their place with the satisfying "thunk" that can only come from good hard covers and clean black serif fonts. In short, Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia is itself a glorious exercise in the Victorian fantastic. Explore it in that same spirit.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A well researched, well written, fascinating book.,
This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana (Hardcover)
Jess Nevin's Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana covers the protagonists, both heroic and otherwise, of an incredibly innovative era in fantastic literature. Here you will find the roots of concepts in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror literature that are still being explored today.
The book does have its drawbacks. It's a handsome volume, and the production values are high. However, this is a subject that cries out for interior art from the period to break up an otherwise very dry layout. The book also lacks an index. However, the chapter headings do list the characters covered in each chapter. I would recommend this book to those with an interest in Victorian literature and early science fiction. It is particularly useful for fan fiction writers and Role Playing Gamers interested in incorporating Victorian elements into their work.
29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Amazing Mr. Nevins and his Encylopedia Victoriana: you will have need of no other book ever again.,
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This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana (Hardcover)
Fatter than Elvis, smoother than Sinatra and far, far, more erudite than either one, this big honking book, nay 'tis a TOME, is staggering (heavy & detail obsessed) and stunning (one can use it to fend of muggings or to dramatically increase one's own trivia knowledge base). It needs its own zip codes and should only be approached on weekends, when one has lots of time to spare swimming in its golden amber depths. For Western Pop Culture Mavens and Dilettantes, this is the veritable source of the Nile, a thorough mapping of heroes, rogues, adventurers, she-demons, science devices and ancient civilizations.
And better yet, Mr. Nevins has a Pulp volume on the 2007 horizon and a Golden Era Superhero volume to come. If you're a fan of this era, of of genre fiction, comics, scifi, fantasy, League of Extraorinary Gentlemen, you will fall for this encyclopedia like a ton of bricks.
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