"Venus in Boston" and Other Tales of Nineteenth-Century City Life (Paperback)

by George Thompson (Author), David S. Reynolds (Editor), Kimberly R. Gladman (Editor) "I conceive it to be a prominent fault of most of the tales of fiction that are written and published at the present day, that..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jew Mike, New York, Fanny Aubrey (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
The introduction to the volume constitutes the most thorough, accessible, and useful account of Thompson's life and work to date. -- Leon Jackson, University of South Carolina, Columbia

Product Description
This book reprints for the first time since the 1850s three short works by George Thompson (1823--c. 1873), one of antebellum America's most successful and prolific authors of sensational fiction. Beginning in the 1840s, he wrote stories for sporting papers like "Life in Boston and New York," edited the humorous New York weekly "The Broadway Belle," and contributed regularly to the sexually explicit "Venus' Miscellany." He also published dozens of novels, most of which were set in Northeastern cities. His writing blends entertainment and social protest, combining commentary on such issues as urbanization, poverty, race, and class with some of the era's most shocking depictions of sex and violence. The three works in this volume offer a rich representative sample of Thompson's writing. The two novels-"Venus in Boston" and "City Crimes"--depict the American city as a place of dark mystery, bawdy humor, and near-universal corruption peopled with con artists and criminals of all kinds. In each novel, a complex narrative structure interweaves multiple stories of exploited labor, abuse of power, seduction, intrigue, and crime. Thompson's autobiography, "My Life," presents the author's life in terms nearly as lively as his fiction. Thompson's zestful, unconventional writings fly in the face of the stereotypical view of Victorian America as strait-laced and sentimental. Ideal for use as a classroom text, this new edition includes a scholarly introduction and an extensive bibliography.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press; illustrated edition edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558493263
• ISBN-13: 978-1558493261
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #680,575 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Grand Guignol at its best..., June 15, 2005

By	Christopher G. Robinson (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These two samples of Nineteenth Century popular fiction make
for lurid and thrilling, if somewhat violent reading.
"City Crimes" especially would be a film far more gripping
than "Gangs of New York", although not for the faint-hearted.
Most of the works of this genre exist only on reels of
microfilm and hopefully one day will become more accessible.