Folklore in British Literature

This scholarly work examines how British women writers from 1750 to 1880 employed folklore as a sophisticated rhetorical device to navigate cultural anxieties about race, class, and gender. When female characters confronted threatening social boundaries, they turned to mermaids, Cinderella figures, and other supernatural beings to render complex power dynamics more manageable through metaphor. The book demonstrates how these ever-changing folkloric elements actually reinforced deeper fears about empire, labor, and desire rather than resolving them. Through close analysis of works by authors like Sara, Wakefield reveals folklore's surprising function as a literary safety valve for expressing societal unease.

What makes this study particularly compelling is its focus on the paradoxical nature of folklore in women's writing—how supernatural stories simultaneously gave voice to and contained cultural anxieties. The book will resonate most with literature students and scholars interested in feminist literary criticism, British cultural studies, and the intersection of folk tradition with social commentary. Wakefield's analysis provides fresh perspective on how seemingly simple fairy tales and folk motifs served as complex psychological tools for women navigating restrictive social landscapes, making this an insightful contribution to both literary history and folklore studies.