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This article examines the prolific field of literary criticism on the Victorian gothic. It begins by offering a brief history of the genre and by delineating differences between its eighteenth‐ and nineteenth‐century manifestations. The article then isolates major critical discussions on the important triad of anxiety, monstrosity, and identity, focusing primarily on the last fifteen years. Among the most promising developments are recent interventions from queer theory, postcolonial studies, and economic theory. The final part of the article offers suggestions for future research, calling for a balance between a particularizing and expansive approach to the gothic.

Inasmuch as they offer advice on howto improve appearances, nineteenth-century beauty manuals also vividly describe the dangers of putting on a face. The consequences of using cosmetics – often comprised of toxic ingredients such as arsenic, mercury, and lead – might range from the discomfort of surface irritation to the fatality of poisoning. Several manuals recount the unfortunate story of Lady Mary Montagu, who suffered an allergic reaction to a popular cosmetic, the Genuine Balm of Mecca, which led her face to turn red and swell “to a very extraordinary size . . . . It remained in this tormentable state three days, during which you may be sure I passed my time very ill” (Toilette of Health64). Another woman succumbed to an equally unfortunate fate as the facial powder, or “pearl white,” she wore to a scientific demonstration suddenly turned black in an adverse reaction to the chemicals used in the experiment. In an even more tragic case, “Mrs. S, being much troubled with pimples, applied an alum poultice to her face, which was soon followed by a stroke of the palsy, and terminated in her death” (Clark iv, 46). These stories caution that beautification through artificial means may eradicate the very self that had sought improvement.

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