Legitimacy and Illegitimacy in Nineteenth-Century Law, Literature and History - (Palgrave Studies in Nineteenth-Century Writing and Culture)

About the Book

"Animated by scandals, scoundrels and imposters, this collection, with contributions from prominent scholars of literature, history and law, seeks to address issues of identity, trust and deception in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain through the optic of the twin concepts of legitimacy and illegitimacy"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

This innovative book draws together literature, law and economic and social history to investigate the meanings and uses of legitimacy in nineteenth-century Britain. This broad range of essays highlights the ways in which contested narratives and interested performances shaped the idea of legitimate authority during this period.

Review Quotes

'...several of the essays offer interesting and worthwhile material... Perhaps, most appealing to literary scholars will be Jo McDonagh's 'On Settling and Being Unsettled: Legitimacy and Settlement around 1850'. A subtle analysis of the languages of settlement in George Coode's 1851 parliamentary report on the New Poor Law and Charles Dickens' 1852-3 novel Bleak House, this essay exemplifies interdisciplinary scholarship at its best.' - Routledge ABES June 2011

About the Author

TIMOTHY ALBORN Professor of History, Lehman College, University of New York City, USA MICHAEL LOBBAN Professor of Legal History, Queen Mary, University of London, UK RANDALL MCGOWEN Professor of History, University of Oregon, USA ROHAN MCWILLIAM Senior Lecturer in British and American History, Anglia Ruskin University, UK JOSEPHINE MCDONAGH Professor of English Literature, King's College, University of London, UK MARGOT FINN Professor of Modern British history, University of Warwick, UK JENNY BOURNE TAYLOR Professor of English, University of Sussex, UK