Victorian dominatrices revisited. Women of arcane power in nineteenth-century fiction

Victorian Dominatrices Revisited investigates women of mysterious and arcane power in the fiction of Charlotte Brontë, William Morris, Thomas Hardy, Vernon Lee, and Ford Madox Ford. Focusing on a diverse range of genres - including the gothic, romance, naturalism, the fantastic, and impressionism - this study situates these figures within the broader contexts of art, culture, and society. The aim of this new edition is to explore how these five authors redefined the Victorian femme fatale, presenting women of immense social, sexual, and psychological power who destabilise patriarchal authority, haunt the male imagination, and reshape the critical debate surrounding the New Woman.