Syphilis in Victorian Literature and Culture: Medicine, Knowledge and the Spectacle of Victorian Inv

"The book offers an ambitious and impressively researched study of syphilis in late Victorian Britain. ... Pietrzak-Franger has produced an impressive and insightful piece of research ... . the monograph is a rewarding read, offering various avenues for further research, not only for scholars working in Victorian studies and the medical humanities, but for anyone interested in the intersections of literature, culture, visual studies and the history of medicine." (Sarah Schäfer-Althaus, Anglia, Vol. (139) 1, 2021)
"Syphilis in Victorian Literature and Culture is a thoughtful, well-researched, and provocative piece of research that uncovers the complexities of the representation of syphilis, its subtle and not so subtle symbolic functions in Victorian culture, and the part it plays still today in articulating social and political anxieties about nationhood and identity." (Jane Desmarais, English Literature in Transition, Vol. 63 (1), 2020)
"This work provides a useful lense for Victorian perspectives on syphilis, offering the potential for parallels to be drawn with more recent times. ... Pietrzak-Franger has produced a comprehensive and incisive piece of criticism, made all the more impressive for previous lack of attention to the cultural meanings of syphilis." (Joe Holloway, The British Society for Literature and Science, bsls.ac.uk, February, 2018)