Masculine Desire

“An immensely rich and prophetic book, its appearance will inevitably alter and transform the order of Victorian studies. Like the supervention of the new (the really new) in T. S. Eliot’s concept of tradition, Victorian studies will be irrevocably modified by the introduction of Masculine Desire.” — Victorian Studies

“Dellamora provides an indispensable scholarly study of the political and aesthetic contexts which shaped the culture of homosexuality in Victorian England, and shows that masculine desire as a literary topic had a complex history that predated Wilde.” — Elaine Showalter, Princeton University

“This major work is the long-awaited breakthrough study in the field; it will be widely noted and discussed, and will become an essential part of contemporary gender discourse. A work of intellectual scope and theoretical reach, it is well-informed, clear-headed, polemical, and even visionary at times. Beyond markedly advancing our understanding of sexual politics, Dellamora offers a fresh way of perceiving the social and political realities of late nineteenth-century England.” — David J. DeLaura, University of Pennsylvania

“Anyone interested in nineteenth-century writers' homoerotic ties and homophobic anxieties will appreciate this work’s intriguing analysis, impressive learning, and striking conclusions. Masculine Desire will remain an important and influential work of critical scholarship in coming years.” — Florence Boos, University of Iowa

“Many Victorianists will have reason to be grateful for the care and scrupulousness with which Dellamora has steeped himself in the cross-currents of nineteenth-century culture.” — Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Duke University