Through an examination of Tennyson's 'domestic poetry' - his portrayals of England and the English - in their changing nineteenth-century context, this book demonstrates that many of his representations were 'fabrications', more idealized than real, which played a vital part in the country's developing identity and sense of its place in the world.

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Reviews

“Tennyson and the Fabrication of Englishness is, on the whole, scrupulously careful to define and, by and large, to fulfill its own mission. … of potentially significant use for students and other readers seeking an overview of major topics that unites both major and minor poems.” (Cornelia Pearsall, Victorian Studies, Vol. 57 (3), 2015)

"...Sherwood's book contributes to a revival of interest in the relationship between poetry and nation that has taken place in the last couple of decades and that has generated a rich body of work... Sherwood raises some important questions about the Tennysonian vocabulary... her study is alive to the fragility of Englishness, to the possibility that it is a 'fantasy or falsehood' and to the sense that its individual threads are as likely to pull against one another as they are to be of a piece." Anna Barton, Tennyson Reseach Bulletin

"This study offers a timely and scholarly account of Tennyson's involvement in debates around the crucial topic of English national identity. Elegantly written and intelligently structured, Tennyson and the Fabrication of Englishness makes a valuable and original contribution to our reading of Tennyson's poetry, and to our understanding of the wider Victorian cultural and political context." Roger Ebbatson, Lancaster University, UK

About the author

Marion Sherwood is an independent scholar, having retired from a career in investment banking and returning to full-time education. She studied English at postgraduate level with the Open University, writing her PhD on Tennyson, on whom she has also published several journal articles.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: Tennyson and the Fabrication of Englishness
Authors: Marion Sherwood
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137288905
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Palgrave Literature Collection, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2013
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-28889-9Published: 05 March 2013
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-44999-6Published: 01 January 2013
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-28890-5Published: 05 March 2013
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VII, 230
Topics: Poetry and Poetics, British and Irish Literature, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Literary Theory, Cultural Theory, Literary History

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

Front Matter

Back Matter

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