The Rise and Fall of the Femme Fatale in British Literature, 1790-1910explores the femme fatale's careerin nineteenth-century British literature. It traces her evolution-and devolution-formally, historically, and ideologically through a selection of plays, poems, novels, and personal correspondence. Considering well-known fatal women alongside more obscure ones, The Rise and Fall of the Femme Fatale sheds new light on emerging notions of gender, sexuality, and power throughout the long nineteenth century. By placing the fatal woman in a still-developing literary and cultural narrative, this study examines how the femme fatale adapts over time, reflecting popular tastes and socio-economic landscapes.

By Heather L. Braun

Contents
Introduction: Literary Form and the Nineteenth-Century Femme Fatal
Chapter 1: The Gothic Ballad and the Supernatural Femme Fatal
Chapter 2: The Realist Novel and the Romanticized Femme Fatal
Chapter 3: From Sensation Novel to Vampire Tale: The Erotic Femme Fatal
Chapter 4: Decsdence, Self-Awareness, and the Decline of the Femme Fatal
Conclusion: Reprising the Femme Fatal