Cost and Registration Information

Early Registration Price (by September 1): $210
Regular Price (after September 1): $231

This seminar is full. Please call (312) 255-3700 if you would like to be added to the wait list.

Seminar Description

Despite its prim and proper reputation, Victorian Britain had a dark side. In a straight-laced society, the thrill of suspense, of the supernatural, and of just being scared had an irresistible allure. This six-week seminar explores the many and surprising ways that Victorian artists and their audiences reveled in tales of terror, intricate and excessive mourning practices, and mysterious and macabre art and fashion that can still enchant us today. Six sessions.

Debra N. Mancoff, Newberry Scholar-in-Residence and author of The Face: Our Human History; Fashion Muse; Flora Symbolica: The Pre-Raphaelite Language of Flowers; and Icons of Beauty: Art, Culture, and the Image of Women, writes on art, fashion, and culture.

Materials List

Required:

• Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market. Dover Thrift. ISBN-13: 978-0486280554
• Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dover Thrift. ISBN-13: 978-0486278070
• Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. Dover Thrift. ISBN-13: 978-0486266848
  • Note: Any edition of these titles is fine, but if you would like to purchase one for class, these are the instructor's recommendations.

First Reading:

• Please read "Shalken the Painter" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, available online here for the first class.

This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.