Description: | In Victorian Britain, from 1860 - 1880, sensation novels enjoyed unprecedented success. These novels, which are a cross between the psychological thriller, crime fiction, romance, and horror, were incredibly popular precisely because of their suspense, melodrama, and extremes of behavior. These novels often dealt with such themes and tropes as bigamous marriages; misdirected letters; romantic triangles; heroines placed in physical danger; drugs, potions, and/or poisons; characters adopting disguises; trained coincidences; aristocratic villains; heightened suspense; and detailism. Not only that, but these novels gave birth to several modern day genres of both literature and screen including detective novels, "true" crime stories, police fiction, and other such entertainment. This study seeks to critically examine the authors, works, and readers of this short-lived but very popular literary genre. Students will read such authors as Wilkie Collins (considered by many to be the The King of Sensation,) Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Charles Reade, Ellen Wood, and others. |