In this episode I'm joined by Rachel M Friars, where we discuss her research into queer Neo-Victorian works. We talk about diaries and correspondence and how this provides an interesting insight into queer identities (such as Anne Lister), and how neo-Victorianism reflects contemporary anxieties, whilst considering the enduring legacies of the Victorian.


About my guest: Rachel is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of English Language and Literature at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her current work centers on neo-Victorianism and nineteenth-century lesbian literature and history, with secondary research interests in life writing, historical fiction, true crime, popular culture, and the Gothic. Her work has recently appeared in Neo-Victorian Madness: Rediagnosing Nineteenth-Century Mental Illness in Literature and Other Media (Palgrave Macmillan 2020) and in The Journal of Neo-Victorian Studies (2020). She has forthcoming articles in Gothic Mash-Ups: Hybridity, Appropriation, and Intertextuality in Gothic Storytelling (Lexington Books 2021) and in Crime Studies Journal (2022). She is a reviewer for The Lesbrary, the co-editor-in-chief of True Crime Index, and an Associate Editor and Social Media Coordinator for PopMeC Research Collective. Rachel is co-editor-in-chief of the international literary journal, The Lamp, and regularly publishes her own short fiction and poetry.


For more information on Rachel's work, check out the links and details below:

https://lampjournal.com/
https://truecrimeindex.ca/
https://popmec.hypotheses.org/
Twitter: @RachelMFriars


Check out Rachel's recommended sources, which she mentioned in our episode:
Historical Fictions Research Network - https://historicalfictionsresearch.org/
Anno Dracula series - Kim Newman
Plain Bad Heroines - Emily M Danforth
The Once and Future Witches - Alix E Harrow
The Doll Factory - Elizabeth Macneal
A Madness So Discreet - Mindy McGuinness
Girl in a Blue Dress - Gaynor Arnold
A Dowry of Blood - S T Gibson

Episode Credits:

Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma Catan
Music: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSound

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