Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective Fiction
Although Harriet Prescott Spofford appears to have given up the genre of detective fiction in the late 1860s, she actually used it as the foundation for works in which suspense, sudden revelations and unexpected final twists serve her investigation of various social ills, especially those affecting...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2019-11-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15021 |
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| author | Stéphanie Durrans |
| author_facet | Stéphanie Durrans |
| author_sort | Stéphanie Durrans |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although Harriet Prescott Spofford appears to have given up the genre of detective fiction in the late 1860s, she actually used it as the foundation for works in which suspense, sudden revelations and unexpected final twists serve her investigation of various social ills, especially those affecting the place and condition of women in the society of her times. This paper examines three detective stories written by Spofford between 1859 and 1868 in an attempt to retrace the birth and development of her chief detective figure, from the wine cellar in which he is figuratively born to the dark depths of the cellar where he is left stranded at the end of the last tale. The patterns of convergence that can be traced between these three tales highlight Spofford’s vision of the home as a highly unstable ground whose shaky foundations are best reflected through the metaphor of the cellar. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4503905523614f2da9c7c213e883f625 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-4503905523614f2da9c7c213e883f6252025-01-06T09:09:49ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362019-11-0114310.4000/ejas.15021Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective FictionStéphanie DurransAlthough Harriet Prescott Spofford appears to have given up the genre of detective fiction in the late 1860s, she actually used it as the foundation for works in which suspense, sudden revelations and unexpected final twists serve her investigation of various social ills, especially those affecting the place and condition of women in the society of her times. This paper examines three detective stories written by Spofford between 1859 and 1868 in an attempt to retrace the birth and development of her chief detective figure, from the wine cellar in which he is figuratively born to the dark depths of the cellar where he is left stranded at the end of the last tale. The patterns of convergence that can be traced between these three tales highlight Spofford’s vision of the home as a highly unstable ground whose shaky foundations are best reflected through the metaphor of the cellar.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15021Harriet Prescott Spofforddetective fictiongender roleshomecellars |
| spellingShingle | Stéphanie Durrans Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective Fiction European Journal of American Studies Harriet Prescott Spofford detective fiction gender roles home cellars |
| title | Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective Fiction |
| title_full | Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective Fiction |
| title_fullStr | Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective Fiction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective Fiction |
| title_short | Of Women, Wine and Salt: Revisioning the Home in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s Detective Fiction |
| title_sort | of women wine and salt revisioning the home in harriet prescott spofford s detective fiction |
| topic | Harriet Prescott Spofford detective fiction gender roles home cellars |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15021 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephaniedurrans ofwomenwineandsaltrevisioningthehomeinharrietprescottspoffordsdetectivefiction |