The Criminal Proceedings, from Arrest to Imprisonment
The book offers a comprehensive and authoritative account of Oscar Wilde's two trials, drawing from diverse sources such as official and private letters, newspaper reports, and incomplete transcripts. It highlights the trials' significant impact on legal and cultural history, presenting an in-depth analysis that sheds new light on this pivotal moment.
Examining the emergence of combative masculinity during the British Empire, this book delves into 'boys' own' literature to uncover the cultural and historical factors that shaped this distinct genre. It analyzes how these narratives influenced perceptions of masculinity and adventure, reflecting societal values of the time. Through a critical lens, the work explores the implications of these literary themes on male identity and behavior in the context of imperialism.
Originally published in 1991. Focusing on ¿boys' own¿ literature, this book examines the reasons why such a distinct type of combative masculinity developed during the heyday of the British Empire. This book reveals the motives that produced this obsessive focus on boyhood. In Victorian Britain many kinds of writing, from the popular juvenile weeklies to parliamentary reports, celebrated boys of all classes as the heroes of their day. Fighting fit, morally upright, and proudly patriotic - these adventurous young men were set forth on imperial missions, civilizing a savage world. Such noble heroes included the strapping lads who brought an end to cannibalism on Ballantyne's "Coral Island" who came into their own in the highly respectable "Boys' Own Paper", and who eventually grew up into the men of Haggard's romances, advancing into the Dark Continent. The author here demonstrates why these young heroes have enjoyed a lasting appeal to readers of children's classics by Stevenson, Kipling and Henty, among many others. He shows why the political intent of many of these stories has been obscured by traditional literary criticism, a form of criticism itself moulded by ideals of empire and ¿Englishness¿. Throughout, imperial boyhood is related to wide-ranging debates about culture, literacy, realism and romance. This is a book of interest to students of literature, social history and education.
Classic / British English An artist paints a picture of the young and handsome Dorian Gray. When he sees it, Dorian makes a wish that changes his life. As he grows older, his face stays young and handsome. But the picture changes. Why can't Dorian show it to anybody? What is its terrible secret?