A Complete Identity: The Youthful Hero in the Work of G. A. Henty and George MacDonald

This book offers an examination of the hero figure in the work of G. A. Henty (1832-1902) and George MacDonald (1824-1905) and a reassessment of oppositional critiques of their writing. It demonstrates the complementary characteristics of the hero figure which construct a complete identity commensurate with the Victorian ideal hero. The relationship between the expansion of the British Empire and youthful heroism is established through investigation of the Victorian political social and religious milieu the construct of the child and the construct of the hero. A connection between the exotic geographical space of empire and the unknown psychological space is drawn through examination of representation of the other in the work of Henty and MacDonald. This book demonstrates that Hentys work is more complex than the stereotypically linear masculine imperialistic critique of his stories as historical realism allows and that MacDonalds work displays more evidence of historical embedding and ideological interpellation than the critical focus on his work as fantasy and fairy tale considers. Greater understanding of the effect of this heroic ideal on nineteenth-century society leads to a greater understanding of the implications for subsequent childrens literature and Western cultures including that of the twenty-first century. This remarkable piece of scholarship offers a bold unexpected and exciting juxtaposition of G. A. Henty and George MacDonald exploring their work as part of the same tradition and the product of the same culture and ideology. Apart from examining the two authors it sheds new light on the Victorian era childrens and adolescent fiction childhood studies gender studies and a whole range of other areas of critical pursuit. --Maria Nikolajeva Professor of Education Professorial Fellow of Homerton College Cambridge UK Focusing on two ostensibly disparate writers Rachel Johnsons study A Complete Identity admirably describes the multifaceted hero in both realistic and speculative fiction of the Victorian period. Johnsons project is to demonstrate the fluidity of genre and the similarity of vision in writers who are only superficially on opposite sides of literary expression. She does both MacDonald and Henty a service. This is a daring and innovative project thoroughly researched and engagingly written. --Roderick McGillis Emeritus Professor of English the University of Calgary Canada Scholarly readable thorough and in some ways revolutionary A Complete Identity is a remarkable contribution to Henty and MacDonald studies. Students of childrens literature and Victorian literature and culture will find its close textual readings and its revaluation of the nature of the hero refreshing and highly informative. --Peter Hunt Emeritus Professor of English and Childrens Literature Cardiff University UK Rachel Johnson analyzes the works of G. A. Henty and George MacDonald to interrogate the false binary inherent in rigid demarcations that distinguish realism from fantasy in childrens literature. She insightfully demonstrates how the fictions of Henty and MacDonald create a dialogue that positions the Victorian hero as both a self-reliant realist and a mythic figure who is necessarily idealistic in his efforts to uphold the values of Victorian society. --Roberta Seelinger Trites Distinguished Professor Department of English Illinois State University Illinois Rachel Johnsons A Complete Identity is a deeply and thoroughly researched book which brings refreshing new readings and understandings of the work of G.A. Henty and George MacDonald plus new ways of thinking about the construction of heroism in the nineteenth century. . . . Rachel Johnsons work strips away cliched thinking and draws the reader closer to discovering the true hero in the nineteenth century. --Professor Jean Webb Professor of International Childrens Literature Institute o