The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack

Victorian Urban Folklore and Popular Cultures

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 19th Century, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture
Cover of the book The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack by Karl Bell, Boydell & Brewer
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Karl Bell ISBN: 9781782041542
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Publication: October 18, 2012
Imprint: Boydell Press Language: English
Author: Karl Bell
ISBN: 9781782041542
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Publication: October 18, 2012
Imprint: Boydell Press
Language: English

WINNER of the 2013 Katharine Briggs Award NEW LOWER PRICE This book uses the nineteenth-century legend of Spring-Heeled Jack to analyse and challenge current notions of Victorian popular cultures. Starting as oral rumours, this supposedly supernatural entity moved from rural folklore to metropolitan press sensation, co-existing in literary and theatrical forms before finally degenerating into a nursery lore bogeyman to frighten children. A mercurial and unfixed cultural phenomenon, Spring-Heeled Jack found purchase in both older folkloric traditions and emerging forms of entertainment. Through this intriguing study of a unique and unsettling figure, Karl Bell complicates our appreciation of the differences, interactions and similarities between various types of popular culture between 1837 and 1904. The book draws upon a rich variety of primary source material including folklorist accounts, street ballads, several series of "penny dreadful" stories (and illustrations), journals, magazines, newspapers, comics, court accounts, autobiographies and published reminiscences. The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack is impressively researched social history and provides a fascinating insight into Victorian cultures. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in nineteenth-century English social and cultural history, folklore or literature. Karl Bell is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Portsmouth.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

WINNER of the 2013 Katharine Briggs Award NEW LOWER PRICE This book uses the nineteenth-century legend of Spring-Heeled Jack to analyse and challenge current notions of Victorian popular cultures. Starting as oral rumours, this supposedly supernatural entity moved from rural folklore to metropolitan press sensation, co-existing in literary and theatrical forms before finally degenerating into a nursery lore bogeyman to frighten children. A mercurial and unfixed cultural phenomenon, Spring-Heeled Jack found purchase in both older folkloric traditions and emerging forms of entertainment. Through this intriguing study of a unique and unsettling figure, Karl Bell complicates our appreciation of the differences, interactions and similarities between various types of popular culture between 1837 and 1904. The book draws upon a rich variety of primary source material including folklorist accounts, street ballads, several series of "penny dreadful" stories (and illustrations), journals, magazines, newspapers, comics, court accounts, autobiographies and published reminiscences. The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack is impressively researched social history and provides a fascinating insight into Victorian cultures. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in nineteenth-century English social and cultural history, folklore or literature. Karl Bell is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Portsmouth.

More books from Boydell & Brewer

Cover of the book Anne of France: Lessons for my Daughter by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Approaching African History by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Ivor Gurney and Marion Scott by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Modern German Thought from Kant to Habermas by Karl Bell
Cover of the book The Lives of George Frideric Handel by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Remembering Africa by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Toscanini in Britain by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Medievalism: Key Critical Terms by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Late Medieval Castles by Karl Bell
Cover of the book The Political Economy of Everyday Life in Africa by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Mandela's Kinsmen by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Writing the Revolution by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Edgar Julius Jung, Right-Wing Enemy of the Nazis by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Inside Conducting by Karl Bell
Cover of the book The Allotment Movement in England, 1793-1873 by Karl Bell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy