<i>Extraordinary Aesthetes: Decadents, New Women, and Fin-de-Siècle Culture</i>, edited by Joseph Bristow

Just as the decadent movement encapsulated many different aspects of culture and literature, this collection, edited by Joseph Bristow, includes a diverse range of chapters that touch on the literature, art, and print culture that defined the decadent movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Academics from multiple disciplines and scholarly interests will find at least one chapter relevant to their work, although one of the many strengths of this volume is the engaging way in which the authors present their research to appeal to any reader. Readers will come away from this collection with a better understanding of the decadent movement and the ways in which both men and women created a society that was embracing the world of modernism.Bristow’s extensive introduction brilliantly succeeds in setting the cultural moment for the decadent movement and providing necessary background to fully appreciate the following chapters. Bristow’s working definition of decadence allows readers to frame the collection both historically and culturally: Decadence “signif[ies] not so much the decay of an ancient empire as a type of modern alienated consciousness that marks a decisive intellectual break with both Classical and Romantic aesthetic principles” (9). This shift from previous ways of thinking features prominently in the collection, from S. Brooke Cameron’s chapter on the depiction of women choosing to work outside the home in Victorian literature to Emily Harrington’s chapter on the ways in which male decadents’ poetry dealt with issues of “forbidden desires and sexualities, music-hall eroticism, and being ‘desolate and sick of an old passion’” (178). Bristow’s expertise on the decadent movement makes this collection accessible to both those familiar with the major players of this moment and curious scholars wanting to learn more about decadence.I would argue that one of the major strengths of this collection is that it shows how the decadents were interested in breaking with the traditional views of Victorian sexuality and forging their own path, whether that be through homosexuality or different perspectives on marriage. Kate Krueger’s chapter, “The Decay of Marriage in Ella D’Arcy’s Decadent New Woman Fiction,” shows how the concept of marriage evolved in the fin de siècle. Although D’Arcy does include marriage in her fiction—an essential ending to any Victorian novel—she subverts this notion by placing the marriage of her characters at the beginning of the story. Thus, instead of acting as a reward for women who maintain their sexual purity, marriage serves as a warning of the dangers that can occur for women. Krueger comments that “by placing marriage early in the narrative, New Women writers were able to dissect rather than celebrate the institution. Marriage thus served as a catalyst for conflict rather than closure” (112). Julie Wise also explores the issue of women rebelling against Victorian views of femininity and motherhood in her chapter, “Dollie Radford and the Case of the Disappearing Babies.” This chapter, which focuses on a photograph included in an 1897 calendar featuring twelve modern poets, increases the diversity of representations of decadence and strengthens the breadth of the collection. The emphasis on the ways in which decadents—both male and female—reacted against the previous notions of sexuality provides readers with a glimpse of how decadents of all disciplines were forging their own paths sexually and culturally.Another strength of this collection is showing how there is not one way for decadents to produce their art or literature; decadence exists on a spectrum. For example, in the chapter “Mabel Dearmer’s Decadent Way,” Diana Maltz asks, “Can an image be formally Decadent while remaining morally palatable?” (126). Dearmer was a children’s author and illustrator, and many of her images do not include the erotic elements indicative of many decadent illustrations. Maltz compares Dearmer’s illustrations side by side with Aubrey Beardsley’s (one of the most prominent and erotic illustrators of the period) to demonstrate how similar Dearmer’s illustrations are to Beardsley’s in both color and artistic style. Maltz concludes that “[w]e cannot simplify Decadence and hinge it on her resemblance to a single figure, a Beardsley or a Wilde. . . . [Dearmer’s illustrations] attest to her originality as a designer, particularly in her use of colour” (150). Beth Newman also examines alternative ways to interpret decadence in her chapter, “So Much Too Little: Alice Meynell, Walter Pater, and the Question of Influence.” Newman argues that Meynell, who was seen as too conservative to be a New Woman, was in fact critiquing decadence and explores the “problematic relationship to the time in which she wrote” (156). By including chapters that complicate readers’ view of decadence, this collection provides a complete view of the movement and proves that authors could have multiple interpretations of decadent ideology and still be considered a New Woman.Finally, this collection shows how the decadent movement bridged the gap between Victorian and modern literature. While many of the chapters discuss texts that were written before 1901, the last two chapters discuss how decadence was prevalent in works published after World War I. This concept is clearly seen in So Young Park’s chapter, “Radical Empathy in Dora Sigerson’s The Fairy Changeling (1898) and Broadside Poems of 1916–1917.” By examining works that Sigerson produced in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Park demonstrates how authors were able to continue their literary careers into the twentieth century, proving how late Victorian literature had many of the same ideals and values as modern literature. While there could have been a couple more chapters that discussed the role of decadence in modernism to exhibit its continuing influence, ending with modernist works provides a nice conclusion to the collection.Overall, this edited collection belongs in any late Victorian or modernist’s library, as it provides exemplary scholarship on the decadent movement and the literary and cultural shift that occurred during the late nineteenth century. The inclusion of chapters about literature, art, and print culture allows the collection to appeal to a wide range of audiences and scholars. While the focus of the collection does not extend beyond British authors, Extraordinary Aesthetes: Decadents, New Women, and Fin-de-Siècle Culture, edited by Joseph Bristow, adds valuable scholarship to the discussion of gender and sexuality, as it pertains to decadent literature and promotes conversation around many lesser-known and noncanonical authors of the period.