Pernicious Female Role Models and Mid-Victorian London’s Stage

Hutcheon identifies as ‘historiographic metafiction’ those pieces of fiction that expose our cultural perception past events is changing and malleable (129). Even though Hutcheon’s theory historiographic metafiction has been mainly applied to from the post-modern era, certain elements historical inspiration can be traced back Victorian period. In this article, I propose turn popular theatre mid-Victorian period scrutinize manipulation female figures, paying close attention representation Lucrezia Borgia a strong-minded woman. To do so, analyse mid-nineteenth century moment for asking questions about feminine identity, feminist movements, alternative representations history. By turning lesser-known plays by H.J. Byron, Charles Matthews, Leicester Buckingham will further contribute an ongoing archaeological task recovering lost voices interpretations recent past.