Output details

Empire and the Animal Body: Violence, Ecology and Identity in Victorian Adventure Fiction.

The first ecologically-focused study of Victorian and Edwardian adventure fiction, the monograph involved detailed analysis of a considerable body of primary texts, spanning over fifty years, in relation to the environmental histories of Britain, India, and West and Southern Africa. The work of the study's central figures (Ballantyne, Henty, Fenn, Buchan, Haggard) totals well over 300 novels. In addition to processing this material, the monograph required extensive archival work, particularly relating to the early cultural history of the gorilla, which involved accessing rare manuscript material in the UK and USA. The book was the product of seven years’ research.