David Masson, Belles Lettres , and a Victorian Theory of the Novel

It might seem bold , or even presumptuous, to assert that there is a clearly identifiable unified theory of the novel present in any aspect of Victorian literary culture. As John C. Olmsted rightly observes, assessing the presence of any specific and consistent critical stance in Victorian criticism is a difficult task; thus, any attempt to evaluate Victorian criticism of the novel is problematic. Victorian periodical criticism is inconsistent, [and] most of it is deservedly forgotten. . . . The reader [of early Victorian novel criticism] finds he must take into account the prejudices of individual reviewers, the political affiliation of the periodical in which a review appears and, all too often in the 1830s, the ties that journals and reviewers had with publishing houses. (Olmsted xiii–xiv) Another problem in assessing Victorian novel criticism lies in the aggressively non-theoretical stance of many Victorian critics. Edwin Eigner and George Worth characterize Victorian criticism of the novel as “written by highly intelligent reviewers and essayists . . . [most of whom] rather prided themselves on the non-theoretical character of their intellects” (1). The absence of theory – perceived or in actuality – in Victorian criticism makes the task of identifying common theoretical concerns and systematic approaches a difficult proposition

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• A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms

  Richard A Lanham•A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms•1991

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