Victorian Speculative Fiction

Nineteenth century canonical speculative fiction overlooks the most consumed of the genre of the time, weekly publications. Although the canon has evolved based on literary “merit” as defined by the educated critics, what the contemporary masses were reading is often overlooked. The critics, educated upper-class men, used parameters to decide the worthiness of literature based on their education, an element lacking, or at least underdeveloped, in the larger population of the nineteenth century. The authors of these works were often working-class and were able to deliver what the masses desired. The working class of the nineteenth century, unlike their upper-class counterparts, could not afford to pay the higher prices for individual book-length works; the weekly publications filled the masses’ desire for affordable literature. While the canonical literature of nineteenth century speculative fiction absolutely has merit, it does not represent the reading habit of most of the population during that time.

Accompanying each canonical text are academic articles providing insight into the works’ themes and criticisms, and works were written for weekly publications in the nineteenth century.