Nineteenth-century Britain was a world in play. The Victorians invented the weekend and built hundreds of parks and playgrounds. In the wake of Darwin, they re-imagined nature as a contest for survival. The playful child became a symbol of the future. A world in play means two things: a world in flux and a world trapped, like Alice in Wonderland, in a ludic microcosm of itself. The book explores the extent to which play (competition, leisure, mischief, luck, festivity, imagination) pervades nineteenth-century literature ...
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Nineteenth-century Britain was a world in play. The Victorians invented the weekend and built hundreds of parks and playgrounds. In the wake of Darwin, they re-imagined nature as a contest for survival. The playful child became a symbol of the future. A world in play means two things: a world in flux and a world trapped, like Alice in Wonderland, in a ludic microcosm of itself. The book explores the extent to which play (competition, leisure, mischief, luck, festivity, imagination) pervades nineteenth-century literature and culture and forms the foundations of the modern self. Play made the Victorian world cohere and betrayed the illusoriness of that coherence. This is the paradox of modernity. Kaiser gives an account of how certain Victorian misfits-working-class melodramatists of the 1830s, the reclusive Emily Bront�, free spirits Robert Louis Stevenson and John Muir, mischievous Oscar Wilde-struggled to make sense of this new world. In so doing, they discovered the art of modern life.
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Add this copy of The World in Play: Portraits of a Victorian Concept to cart. $50.30, very good condition, Sold by Devils In The Detail Ltd rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Oxford, OXFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2011 by Stanford University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Picture Shown is For Illustration Purposes Only, Please See Below For Further DetailsCONDITION-VERY GOOD-HARDBACK-light wear and grub marks to jacket, pages in nice condition, shipped from the UK. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 216 p.
Add this copy of The World in Play: Portraits of a Victorian Concept to cart. $79.16, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2011 by Stanford University Press.
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Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 216 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of The World in Play: Portraits of a Victorian Concept to cart. $33.09, very good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Stanford University Press.
Add this copy of The World in Play: Portraits of a Victorian Concept to cart. $43.49, good condition, Sold by Firefly Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kutztown, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Stanford University Press.
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Used Good in Good jacket. Dust Jacket has some edge and corner wear, some scuffing, but still intact. Front and back covers have light wear to edges and corners. Spine intact, some wear. Binding is intact. Some pages have light pencil underlining. Clearly a pre-owned and used copy but still in readable condition. Firefly Bookstore sells items online and in our store front. We try to add images and descriptions when we can, but if you need additional information or photos of the books we list, please contact us.
Add this copy of The World in Play: Portraits of a Victorian Concept to cart. $79.46, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2011 by Stanford University Press.
Add this copy of The World in Play: Portraits of a Victorian Concept to cart. $53.87, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Stanford University Press.
Add this copy of The World in Play: Portraits of a Victorian Concept to cart. $150.04, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Stanford University Press.
