Book Talk: Still Life: Suspended Development in the Victorian Novel

What does it mean to dream over a book?

Join us for a Chats in the Stacks book talk with Elisha Cohn, assistant professor in the Department of English at Cornell. Her new book, Still Life: Suspended Development in the Victorian Novel, was just published by Oxford University Press in December 2015.

Still Life explores the 19th century aesthetics of agency through the Victorian novel's fascination with states of reverie, trance, and sleep, drawing upon the writings of novelists Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, George Meredith, and Thomas Hardy. Bringing affect theory to bear on the novel form, Cohn explores the new styles they created for experiences of "still life"— a sensuous lyricism that suspends narratives of self-cultivation.

Cohn's research focuses on Victorian literature with an emphasis on the novel and theories of the aesthetic. She has published essays in Victorian Studies, the Journal of Victorian Culture, Contemporary Literature, and elsewhere. Her current interests include the history of neuroscience, animal studies, and affect theory. 

Refreshments served and books available for purchase. This event is hosted by Olin Library.