Humour across Victoriana

deadline for submissions: 
November 1, 2023
full name / name of organization: 
Mou-Lan Wong / National Taiwan University
contact email: 

Humour across Victoriana

To be published as part of the series, Humour in Literature and Culture (Routledge, 2023-2025).

This volume will attempt to explore the prevalence and function of humour across all levels of Victorian society by focusing on how humour is expressed, encountered, and experienced in all forms of media and expression.

Articles may focus on personal writings, such as letters, diaries, journals, or travel logs; public writings, such as announcements, advertisements, state papers, and even obituaries; performances, on stage or off stage, public or private; publications, in book form or periodicals; artistic expressions in prints or paintings, sculpture, music, and others. In terms of material culture, humour may even be pertinent to commercial items, such as souvenirs and other collectibles.

The volume is particularly open to cross-genre or cross-media discussions of humour and also welcomes analyses on humour theory or writings on laughter from established writers, such as Dickens, Thackeray, and Spencer.  It would be impossible to feature all the humoristic expressions spanning all of Victorian Britain, but the volume would like to cover as wide a spectrum as possible to show that the Victorians are indeed capable of creating and enjoying humour—at least among themselves.

Deadline for abstract submission: 1st November 2023.

Deadline for paper submission: 1st March 2024. 

Submitted papers should be 6000-8000 words (12pt Times New Roman) in length, following the Chicago 17B style.

Contact email: mlwong@ntu.edu.tw (Mou-Lan Wong, National Taiwan University), jamessebastianwhitehead@gmail.com (James Whitehead, Independent Scholar)