“Neo-Victorian Decadence and Degeneration: Mental Disorder, Vulnerability and Resistance in Kate Williams’s The Pleasures of Men (2012)”

  • Author: María Isabel Romero Ruiz
  • Book: Neo-Victorian Decadence: Media, Genres, Eras. Eds. Kostas Boyiopoulos and Jo Thorne
  • Publishing house: Brill.
  • Pages: 181-199.
  • Year: 2026.
  • ISBN: 9004747303

Abstract

This pioneering collection of essays connects scholars of Decadence studies and neo-Victorian studies to investigate the fascinating intersections between these two fields. Showcasing the revivalistic nature of aestheticist and decadent texts, it considers neo-Victorianism as inherently decadent in how it subverts and reframes Victorian standards. Within this framework, Neo-Victorian Decadence breathes new life into the paradoxical tensions between art and life, nostalgia and the zeitgeist, consumerism and connoisseurship. It interrogates periodisation for the first time, pushing the limits of what might qualify as neo-Victorian to the Interwar period. The volume stands out for its interdisciplinarity and genre-blending, extending beyond the novel to include non-fiction, film, painting, performance art, and digital communities.

Link to the publication here.