Examining recent rewritings of the Victorian period by authors such as A. S. Byatt, Sarah Waters, Gail Jones and Graham Swift, Victorian Afterimages explores the way in which neo-Victorian fictions enact and celebrate the power of cultural memory in an age historically obsessed and yet charged with the inability to think historically.

When Jessica Carleton, a shy eleven year old from a poor family in Brooklyn who had their fair share of trouble, goes to live with the wealthy Bishop family on Manhattan's Upper East Side, she quickly learns that just because you have money does not mean you're happy. As the years pass, she grows to love the family, and although they never officially consider her to be a member of it, she becomes an important part all the same. Everything goes well until the Christensons arrive a little over ten years later. A devious, clever, and good-looking brother and sister from Connecticut, individually...

When human remains are discovered in a buried Anderson shelter, Alice finds herself wrapped up in a murder mystery that brings back forgotten memories. In Australia, Frank hears of the discovery. He believes he knows whose body this is, and who is to blame. As he travels back to the UK, Frank recalls the terrible events that tore his family apart during the Blitz and ultimately led to him emigrating to Australia. Together, Frank and Alice confront Violet, now frail and elderly, and uncover secrets and lies that have been hidden for seventy years. Frank finds things are not as he thought, and...