sensation, novel of

sensation, novel of, a popular genre of fiction that flourished from c.1860 onwards. It relocated the terrors of the Gothic novel to a recognizably modern, middle-class England. Its high-impact narrative style employed cliffhanging conclusions to chapters, which gave the genre a reputation for ‘preaching to the nerves’. Its plots commonly involved guilty family secrets, bigamy, insanity, and murder (especially poisoning), often inspired by real criminal cases. This accounts for an intense interest in legal papers, telegrams, diary entries, and written testimony. Indeed, many of Wilkie Collins's sensation novels represent themselves as bundles of documents authored by witnesses in the case. The genre was also noted for its energetic—and frequently criminal—heroines, and for its enervated, hypersensitive heroes. The ‘sensation’ label, however, was a perjorative one, and its practitioners rarely declared themselves as such.

The most influential works in the genre are Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White (1860) and The Moonstone (1868); Mrs H. Wood's East Lynne (1861); M. E. Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret (1862); and C. Reade's Hard Cash (1863). The novels of Rhoda Broughton and Ouida are usually considered to be on the margins of the genre. Modern detective fiction can trace its roots back to sensation fiction.