Discursive Practices in the Writing of Ellen Wood
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Detection and the Domestic: Discursive Practices in the Writing of Ellen Wood. This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia 2009 Alison Jaquet Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Discipline of English and Cultural Studies School of Social and Cultural Studies ii Abstract This thesis will explore the interrelations of detection and the domestic in Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood’s novels, short stories and journalism. I want to reconsider the position of Wood’s works in the heterogeneous category of sensation fiction and to tease out the implications of this imprecise location. When Wood’s association with the sensation school was established by Victorian critics in the 1860s, it became commonplace to read her works as sensational, a critical position consistent to the present day, despite the variation evident within her writings. I argue that the complexities within Wood’s oeuvre and the vast differences between her texts and those of other writers labelled as ‘sensational’ produces space for new approaches to her works. The prominence of detection and the domestic in Wood’s oeuvre, the discursive instability of her narratives and their resistance to classification produce a new reading strategy through which I will consider her writings: domestic detection. Ellen Wood’s writings are replete with depictions of homes, families and nations as she negotiates Victorian domestic discourses. In addition, crime and the law are prominent features of her works and the many investigative figures that people her narratives reveal that detection operates as discourse. By recuperating some of her lesser-known texts and revisiting the most famous one, I will develop new resonances between the works, and between Wood and other writers of the Victorian period. The discursive complexities of domestic detection in Wood’s writings and in Victorian literature and culture more broadly, suggest new ways of examining her novels, short fiction and journalism and the context in which they were produced. Wood’s works, previously pigeon-holed as conservative, formulaic and sentimental, reveal subtle, evasive gestures, and domestic detection forms a key part of these strategies. Hence, I want to suggest that Wood’s writings reflect and participate in crucial debates of the Victorian period. Wood used her public power as an author to create complex visions of the home and to investigate domestic discourse. At times, Wood’s works demonstrate strategic interventions in discourses of gender and power, at other times she adopts more conventional positions on issues such as sexual and national identity. It is through the discourse of domestic detection that I wish to illuminate and investigate these complex strategies. iii iv Contents Abstract iii Table of Contents v Publications generated from this thesis vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction. Domestic Detection 1 Chapter One. Storytellers’ Struggles: Detection and Gender in East Lynne. 59 Chapter Two. Domestic Threats: Policing the boundaries of Englishness in The Channings, Mrs Halliburton’s Troubles and Roland Yorke. 89 Chapter Three. The Domestic Detective: Mapping Masculinities in Ellen Wood’s “Johnny Ludlow” series. 129 Chapter Four. Supernatural strategies in The Shadow of Ashlydyat, Dene Hollow and Pomeroy Abbey. 161 Conclusion 205 Bibliography 209 Cover Image: “With a False Key.” Illustrated by Mary Ellen Edwards. Engraved by Edmund Evans. Argosy 16 (June 1873). This illustration accompanied Chapter Sixteen of The Master of Greylands, “Opening the Bureau”. v vi Publications generated from this thesis This thesis contains chapters that derive from my published work. In both instances, the published work has been extended and revised to form thesis chapters. The bibliographical details of the works and where they appear in the thesis have been outlined below. Chapter Three Jaquet, Alison. “Domesticating the Art of Detection: Ellen Wood’s Johnny Ludlow series.” Formal Investigations: Aesthetic Style in Late-Victorian and Edwardian Detective Fiction. Ed. Paul Fox and Koray Melikoglu. Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag, 2007. 179-95. Chapter Four Jaquet, Alison. “The Disturbed Domestic: Supernatural Spaces in Ellen Wood’s fiction.” Women’s Writing. 15.2 (August 2008): 244-258. [Special issue: Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood. Ed. Emma Liggins and Andrew Maunder]. vii viii Acknowledgements I dedicate this work to my supervisor, Professor Judith Johnston. Her wise guidance, from the inception of the idea to the final drafts, has ensured that this process has been an illuminating and rewarding one. Judy, your warmth, enthusiasm, timely interventions and sage advice have immeasurably enriched my work and my life. Thank you for being such a perceptive and generous teacher. Thanks must also go to the staff of the discipline of English and Cultural Studies at The University of Western Australia (UWA). In particular I am grateful to Associate Professor Kieran Dolin, Associate Professor Tanya Dalziell and Associate Professor Steve Chinna who are wonderful teachers and have provided crucial guidance at key points during my university career. I also want to acknowledge the patient and skilful assistance of Ines Bortolini, Linda Cresswell and Hui Chuin Poa. To my lovely fellow postgraduate students, Duc Dau, Stacey Fox, Karen Hall, Lee-Von Kim, Caitlin McGuinness, David Nel and Michael Ondaatje thank you all for your friendship and kindness throughout the years. I must acknowledge the wonderful staff of the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford, and at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas, in particular, Katharine Reutner, for helping me to obtain crucial materials for this project. Thanks also to the Wellesley College Library and The John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester for granting permission to reproduce important correspondence. I also want to acknowledge Rod Berry who sold a much- loved collection of Ellen Wood novels to me in the early days of this thesis. I am forever indebted to my closest friends for their support, willingness to deconstruct a tricky problem or celebrate an academic achievement. Adam Nicol, Zoe Templar, Emily and Tama Leaver: your wit, warmth and wisdom contribute enormously to my life and work. And to Henry Leaver, your happy little face dispelled thesis stress at several crucial points in a way that only someone not-yet inducted into the tricky web of language really could. Special thanks must also go to Anthony Catchpole, Rebecca Leask, Francene and Tim Leaversuch, Max Naglazas and my lovely brother-in-law Andrew Whitehouse. ix This thesis would not have been completed without the generosity of the Jaquet and Yates families: the sources of never-ending encouragement, many dinners and intellectual (and not-so-intellectual) discussions. To my Dad, Derrick Jaquet, and his father, my Grandad Don, I owe my love of detective fiction. Under such wise tutelage, I graduated from Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew and discovered Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Sincere thanks also to Susanne and Henry Sharp who have always encouraged and strengthened my intellectual curiosity and resilience. I am truly thankful for the support of my brilliant twin sister, Emma Jaquet. Em, thank you for your love, honesty and clear-sightedness. We are the best twins. Finally, to James Yates, who has brought music into my life. James, your kindness, strength and love have inspired and sustained me over the years. And, amidst the intensive thesis writing process, thank you for suggesting, on occasion, that a trip to the beach or a game of backgammon might not be such a bad idea as well. This project was completed with funding from a University of Western Australia Postgraduate Award, a University of Western Australia Completion scholarship and valuable research funds from the UWA Graduate Research School and School of Social and Cultural Studies. x Introduction Domestic Detection This work will explore the interrelations of detection and the domestic in Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood’s novels, short stories and journalism.1 I want to reconsider the position of Wood’s works in the heterogeneous category of sensation fiction with which they are frequently associated. By recuperating some of her lesser-known texts and revisiting the most famous, I will develop new resonances between the works, and between Wood and other writers of the Victorian period. Wood’s writings are replete with depictions of homes, families and nations as she negotiates Victorian domestic discourses. In addition, the many investigative figures of her narratives reveal that detection operates as discourse in her works. In this way, an examination of the slippage between sensation and detection will allow Wood to be more adequately located within her literary and cultural context. It is not my intention to dismiss Wood’s association with sensation altogether, as genre is a useful classificatory tool, but once her association with the sensation school of the 1860s was established by Victorian critics, it became commonplace to read her works as sensational, whereas great variation is evident within her writings. The discursive instability of Wood’s works and their resistance to classification requires a nuanced approach. The prominence of detection and the domestic in Wood’s oeuvre produces a new focal point through which to consider her writings: domestic detection. Wood’s 1872 novel, Within the Maze provides a telling example of domestic detection in her works. The ‘Maze’