INTRODUCTION: REREADING DINAH MULOCK CRAIK

Abstract

In the introduction, the author draws on new archival material from Bromley, where Dinah Mulock Craik lived for the last 20 years of her life, in order to situate the author's reputation both during her lifetime and afterwards. The introduction further draws on Craik's unpublished correspondence to update misconceptions about the author's life and to give a clearer picture of her entry into the literary marketplace. Craik's work was first recovered for an academic audience 30 years ago and, as the articles in this issue demonstrate, her novels especially remain fertile ground for current arenas of academic inquiry, including disability studies, children's literature, post-colonialism and new studies of women writers' careers. Further investigation into the various kinds of literary work that Craik undertook, including writing poetry, journalism and translation, would offer scholars a fascinating opportunity to explore the various genres, audiences and venues of publication that could sustain a popular Victorian woman writer's career for more than 40 years.