Femininity, Crime, Self-Defence, Narrative & Truth

Two new scholar books with Brontë mentions:

Femininity, Crime and Self-Defence in Victorian Literature and SocietyFrom Dagger-Fans to Suffragettes
Emelyne Godfrey
Palgrave Macmillan
Series: Crime Files
26 Oct 2012
ISBN: 9780230300316

The topic of women and danger has long fascinated historians. This book innovatively situates both well-known and more obscure themes within the cultural context of the development of self-defence for ladies during the period from circa 1850 to 1914. Elizabeth Robins, Mona Caird and Anne Brontë considered the role of physiognomy in spotting rogue suitors, the nature of feminine anger and the dangers inside and outside the home. H.G. Wells's controversial novel, Ann Veronica (1909), is refreshingly re-examined as a testament to the growth of women's sports while the accompanying proliferation of women's martial arts classes was promoted by Edith Garrud, the trainer for the suffragette Bodyguard. Richard Marsh's detective, Judith Lee, a lip-reader and jujitsu practitioner, has been likened to Sherlock Holmes; her encounters with the Edwardian criminal underworld are explored here. Emelyne Godfrey introduces major themes in this area, showcasing a wealth of literary sources, artefacts and archival documents.

Narrative and TruthAn Ethical and Dynamic Paradigm for the Humanities
Barry Emslie
Palgrave Macmillan
15 Oct 2012
ISBN: 9781137275448

Narrative explanations are preferred over non-narrative, axiomatically, in the humanities. They are more truthful in two senses. Firstly they correspond more closely than a-narrative theories to reality. Secondly they enable, at the very least, value-loaded normative inferences. This is particularly the case when aesthetics is added to the mix. Emslie examines this argument over a wide terrain and over materials ranging from high to popular culture and from close analysis to anecdote, including Marxist Humanism, Feminist literary praxis, Freud, German idealism, discourse ethics, realist aesthetics, Brecht, and sports.

Includes: Women and Writing: Women Theorists, Women Novelists, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë