Rival sensations: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, her adapters, and the contest for cultural representation

"In the nineteenth century, British playwrights exploited a loophole in the copyright law to adapt popular novels at will for the stage. This study documents this moment in theater and literary history to reveal the textual multiplicity that resulted when novels competed for audiences with several theatrical rivals. Mary Elizabeth Braddon, the best-selling author of Lady Audley's Secret and co-creator of the ""sensation"" novel, was a favorite with dramatists. By reading twelve of her novels in conjunction with the twenty-seven plays based upon them, this study shows how the authors define bourgeois propriety differently. These differences demonstrate the inherent multiplicity of ""the popular"" and expose the intensity of hegemonic conflict."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Lindemann, Ruth Burridge

Contributors dc:contributor

• Anderson, Amanda

• History, European
• Theater
• Literature, English

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1996 Lindemann, Ruth Burridge

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

9780591088540
AAI9702585
(UMI)AAI9702585

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/21269