The Oppositional Aesthetics of Chartist Fiction

Redressing a gap in Chartism studies, Rob Breton focuses on the fiction that emerged from the movement, placing it in the context of the Victorian novel. Breton examines works by well-known writers such as Ernest Jones and Thomas Cooper alongside those of obscure writers, rejecting the charge that Chartist fiction fails aesthetically, politically, and culturally. Rather, it serves as a critique of mainstream Victorian fiction by revealing the expectations of narrative to be irreconcilable with the real world.