Art and the Transitional Object in Vernon Lee's Supernatural Tales

Reviews / Votes

'...Pulham's close study of Lee's horror stories is most welcome, for she provides a fresh look at Lee's considerable talents as a creator of psychological studies of monomania. Through the lens of D. W. Winnicott's psychoanalytic theory of the transitional object, she provides illuminating close readings of Lee's tales, as well as several of her other works.' Review of English Studies 'An elegant and insightful critique of Lee's supernatural writing, Pulham's study makes a major contribution to the continued critical resurrection of this Victorian woman of letters.' English Literature in Transition 'Pulham's study has real strength, notably its promotion of a wide range of Lee's fiction, its close and often rich textual engagement, and its careful analysis of Lee's Aesthetic creed and gender politics...' English Studies '... there is much in Pulham's text to recommend. She strengthens her arguments through extended comparative analyses of fantastical stories by Lee's contemporaries and antecedents: Hoffman, Henry James, Balzac, Poe, etc. She draws upon an impressive array of secondary texts that illuminate aspects of art history, aesthetics, and various and varying psychoanalytical ideas that support her thesis. There is enough fascinating detail in each chapter to spark the scholarly imagination into pursuing, perhaps in very different ways, some of Pulham's often ingenious ideas.' Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts