Victorians Like Us was a project made visible at the four conferences organised by the English Culture Research group for English Studies (ULICES) at the University of Lisbon between 2012 and 2018. The project developed out of the idea of bridging the Victorian past and our present time, of analysing and exploring the infinite possibilities of dialogue on the Victorian Age and our present, and emphasising important aspects of such a riveting and life-changing period, in Britain in particular and in the world in general. Both Victorian and Neo-Victorian studies, which stem, in part, from the development of Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Studies, focus on new approaches to a time usually circumscribed to the nineteenth century, highlighting some of the themes that shaped the Victorian world and their impact on our contemporary society. The essays that we present in this special issue cover research investigating Victorian museums and the notion of culture as commodity, John Stuart Mill’s role in education and progress, the progress of the Woman Question in Sarah Grand’s work, and the feminist movement’s connection with art and aestheticism, particularly with the Italian Risorgimento.

Guest Edited by:

Elisabete Mendes Silva – Polytechnic Institute of Bragança & University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies, Portugal

Maria Granic – Benedictine University Mesa, United States of America