Abstract
Abstract: This article examines the figure of the nursemaid in fin-desiècle Gothic literature and late-Victorian spiritualism. I locate the forgotten nursemaid in Henry James's The Turn of the Screw (1898) to establish the nursemaid as a maternal figure obscured by the popular domestic governess. Memoirs and supernatural stories which foreground the nursemaid by spiritualist and author Florence Marryat then serve as rich sources to discuss class and maternity in Britain and the colonies. By considering themes of loss and surrogacy that these nursemaid narratives explore, this article enriches understanding of both the Gothic and maternal identity at the fin de siècle.
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