Introduction
-
Christian K. Melby
Abstract
Invasion-scare and future-war fiction was no invention of the British, nor of the nineteenth century. British invasion scares, as a commercial product that could be commodified and presented to an audience of consumers, goes back to the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Nineteenth-century British invasion-scare literature has traditionally been seen as influenced by a general uncertainty or fear of external enemies. This book, however, argues that the literature of invasion developed in tandem with ideas about public opinion and the influence of the public on military planning. Invasion-scare fiction, however, developed into a flexible genre as the century wore on, and could be read in different ways by different people.
Abstract
Invasion-scare and future-war fiction was no invention of the British, nor of the nineteenth century. British invasion scares, as a commercial product that could be commodified and presented to an audience of consumers, goes back to the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Nineteenth-century British invasion-scare literature has traditionally been seen as influenced by a general uncertainty or fear of external enemies. This book, however, argues that the literature of invasion developed in tandem with ideas about public opinion and the influence of the public on military planning. Invasion-scare fiction, however, developed into a flexible genre as the century wore on, and could be read in different ways by different people.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Abbreviations x
- Note on spelling xi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Introduction 1
- I Beginnings 19
- 1 The Battles of Dorking 21
- II Expertise, public opinion and invasion-scare fiction, 1870s to 1914 53
- 2 After Dorking 55
- 3 Public appeals and fiction, c. 1880–1894 83
- 4 Expert opinion and public pressure 117
- III Authors and readers 151
- 5 Fiction and society 153
- 6 Readers and receptions 189
- IV Fiction goes to war 229
- 7 Invasion-scare literature and the First World War 231
- Conclusion 263
- Bibliography 274
- Index 310
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Abbreviations x
- Note on spelling xi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Introduction 1
- I Beginnings 19
- 1 The Battles of Dorking 21
- II Expertise, public opinion and invasion-scare fiction, 1870s to 1914 53
- 2 After Dorking 55
- 3 Public appeals and fiction, c. 1880–1894 83
- 4 Expert opinion and public pressure 117
- III Authors and readers 151
- 5 Fiction and society 153
- 6 Readers and receptions 189
- IV Fiction goes to war 229
- 7 Invasion-scare literature and the First World War 231
- Conclusion 263
- Bibliography 274
- Index 310
