Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 The Subtle Art: Poison in Victorian Literature Cheryl Blake Price Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE SUBTLE ART: POISON IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE By CHERYL BLAKE PRICE A dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2012 Cheryl Blake Price defended this dissertation on 4/23/2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Barry Faulk Professor Directing Dissertation Frederick Davis University Representative Meegan Kennedy Hanson Committee Member Eric Walker Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To Matt, with love and thanks iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project could not have been realized without an intricate network of support, inspiration, and encouragement. First, I would like to thank my committee—Barry Faulk, Meegan Kennedy Hanson, Eric Walker, and Fritz Davis—for their feedback throughout this process and the insightful comments which certainly helped shape this project for the better. In particular, I thank Barry Faulk for his generosity with his time, his mentorship, and his wisdom. The research for this dissertation was supported by an international fellowship and I am greatly indebted to the English department at FSU for funding this award. In addition, my time in London could not have been as productive without the support of the staff and management at FSU’s London Study Centre, and I particularly thank Kathleen Paul and Lisa Bowers-Isaacson for their kindness and guidance.