This lively collection penetrates the stereotype of the Victorian 'paterfamilias' to reveal intimate and involved, authoritarian and austere fathers. Examining how paternal power was embedded in social institutions, it argues that fatherhood invoked more anxiety and debate than hitherto acknowledged.
Exploring Victorian auto/biography, the book examines the evolution of male literary authority through a feminist lens. It analyzes how this literary genre influenced cultural perceptions and highlights the rise of professions tied to Life-writing. The author discusses the rapid growth of the Life-and-Letters industry and the establishment of a network dominated by male writers and critics, revealing the implications of these developments on societal norms and gender dynamics in literature.