Abstract

ABSTRACT:

This essay examines the non-normative family in Henry Kingsley's novels The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn (1859) and The Hillyars and the Burtons (1865). Kingsley pits his fictitious (and capacious) families against a sequence of challenges presented by the natural world, demonstrating settler robustness while also testing the pull of "home." By considering affective connections between family and place (particularly the idea of home), this essay examines both the creation of a non-normative family and its resilience in the face of environmental challenges, including natural disasters. Through an examination of the migration plot, the article addresses the Victorian family's inclusive capacity and its portability, drawing on the work of Sara Ahmed to consider the emotional pressures associated with relocation to a new environment.

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