‘TREASURE OF A GREAT METROPOLIS’:
London and Literature in the Nineteenth Century

The growth of modern London was accompanied by new ways of presenting the complexity of the urban scene, new expressions of moral and religious concern, and new myths and fantasies about the city. The ancient literary subject of the relation between the country and the city is given new forms, and the city labyrinth becomes the site of mystery, crime, misery and despair, and of detective work, wealth, invention and political and sociological awareness. Complex cities also invite deliberate cultivation of new modes of aesthetic appreciation, new ways of experiencing vestiges of the past, and new ways of comparing this city with other imperial cities, past and present. All these phenomena are exemplified in the set anthology.

This course, part of Cardiff University’s MA in English Literature, analyses the way a variety of texts relate to the city, and the relationships of fictional and historical individuals to their urban environment are presented. There will be a concentration on the techniques, analytical assumptions, and ideologies involved. The course will make use of an anthology of prose and verse works and passages, which is available in this website. The site contains two types of information: course details and pertinent literary resources. Documents currently include extracts, individual pieces, contextual material, illustrations, as well as some full electronic texts.

On the navigation bar to the left are a number of links enabling access to various parts of the site. Fuller information about using this resource can be found in the Guide.