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Queer Dickens: New study provides alternative reading of literary texts

Posted on 28/01/2010
University of Leicester

Queer Dickens: New study provides alternative reading of literary texts

A new study by a University of Leicester researcher puts to rest false notions of the straight-laced Victorians and places Dickens at the heart of nineteenth century understandings of homosexual desire.

Queer Dickens: Erotics, Families, Masculinities offers an original take on the major works of Charles Dickens. The study has been carried out by Dr Holly Furneaux, from the University of Leicester’s School of English.

The research will be presented to the public on Wednesday 3 February at 6pm as part of the event: Victorian Lives, Loves and Limelight, an evening of talks and discussion to celebrate new work in the Victorian Studies Centre at the University of Leicester. The event takes place in Ken Edwards Lecture Theatre 2, University of Leicester

In her new work, Dr Furneaux combines queer theory with a historical approach to the works of Dickens, highlighting the presence of homosexual desire and unconventional family structures in his novels. From Mr Brownlow in Oliver Twist to Joe Gargery in Great Expectations, unconventional family relations are everywhere in Dickens.

Dr Furneaux said Dickens’ work was punctuated by “enthusiastic pursuits and portrayals of male intimacy” and that his work looked beyond the parameters of the conventional family unit. She said Queer Dickens aims to change the conservative popular view of Dickens, and show that Dickens was fascinated by the diversity of gender, the unconventional family and the multiplicity of sexual desire.

Dr Furneaux commented:

“I love Dickens’s work and I hope that Queer Dickens: Erotics, Families, Masculinities will enhance readers’ interest in and enjoyment of his novels. I also hope that the book will have an impact on the assumptions we bring to Dickens and to the Victorians. People often think of him as a conventional, ‘hearth and home’ author, but his work insistently reveals his interest in sexuality and non-biological families.”

Queer Dickens: Erotics, Families, Masculinities is published by Oxford University Press.

Image: Dr Holly Furneaux, Lecturer in Victorian Studies at the University of Leicester.