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 Benjamin Britten and Russia by Karl Bell
Cover of the book The Development State by Karl Bell
Cover of the book A Perceforest Reader by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Richard Wagner and the Centrality of Love by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Heinrich von Kleist by Karl Bell
Cover of the book A Companion to Mia Couto by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Roger Morrice and the Puritan Whigs by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Territories of Conflict by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Jane Austen by Karl Bell
Cover of the book The Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Property by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Generic Histories of German Cinema by Karl Bell
Cover of the book The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars by Karl Bell
Cover of the book That Jealous Demon, My Wretched Health by Karl Bell
Cover of the book Alehouses and Good Fellowship in Early Modern England 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