2026-09-21T08:38:18Zhttps://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/server/oai/request

oai:null:10339/334442026-09-02T15:22:53Zcom_10339_14934col_10339_38132

Jones, Carolyn L. 2011-07-14T20:35:26Z 2013-07-14T08:30:11Z 2011 https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/handle/10339/33444 Because of their popular appeal, Victorian melodramas can reveal new aspects of nineteenth-century London culture. My investigation focuses on three tropes within <italic>The Ticket-of-Leave Man</italic>: the character of the detective, of the ticket-of-leave man (a paroled criminal), and Victorian finances within this 1863 melodrama by Tom Taylor. Taylor's ingenuity is revealed by comparing two main characters' dramatic persona and real-life counterparts as seen through opinions in contemporary periodicals. After investigating the relationship between these two figures, I argue that through his detective character Taylor offers a model of behavior for audience reaction to real-life ticket-of-leave men. The third theme, financial deception, is an unresolved subtext throughout the play. Critic Victor Emeljanow states that “"what differentiates Taylor...is his critical objectivity which distances his writing from the narrowing effects of engaged satire, reforming zeal, or moral fervor;”" because of this ability, Taylor, unlike many Victorian dramatists, “"was generally able to judge in advance the limits of his audience's tolerance”" (57). I argue that Taylor places financial questions subtly but consistently as secondary to the first two themes so as not to challenge “"his audience's tolerance.”" Thus, he quietly raised questions, which served as an understated marker of growing problems in Victorian London. en Wake Forest University Brierly Hawkshaw jail-bird speculation Tolles Tom Taylor's Ticket-of-Leave Man: His Detective Model and Financial Commentary Thesis Jenkins, Melissa DeShazer, Mary Holdridge, Jefferson English 2013-07-14 restricted