ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores four distinct and iconic sartorial fashions of the period from 1860 to 1900, considering how changing colours, textures, and styles of dress represent changing modes of fashion, narrative, and representation for the heroines of popular literature. It provides how the modes and methods of fashion and fashioning tell the heroines' stories as they negotiate contemporary notions of femininity and sexuality, literary genre and representation, and the popular. The book illustrates the stories of twins Ethel and Elfrida Harland. After the death of their parents, the sisters were separated and their situations and manners are marked by differences of wealth and class as well as temperament. The book describes a dress as a symbol for the heroines' fashioning and performance of opposing forms of femininity and sexuality.
