September 2012 For immediate release

New book talks back about ventriloquism

A Leeds Metropolitan University academic has challenged the power imbalance between men and women from Victorian times to the present day through the idea of ventriloquism, whilst contributing to the debate about why we still find ventriloquism so appealing in entertainment. Gender and Ventriloquism in Victorian and Neo-Victorian Fiction, by Dr Helen Davies, is the first book-length study of the relationship between ventriloquism and gender in nineteenth-century fiction and contemporary literature set in the Victorian period (Neo-Victorian), challenging the power relationship between 'ventriloquists' and 'dummies'. Looking closely at books including George Du Mauriers Trilby, featuring the infamous Svengali, Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray, and twentieth century novels such as Sarah Waterss Tipping the Velvet and Affinity, Helen uses ventriloquism as a way of exploring the politics of contemporary fiction's connections with the nineteenth century. Ventriloquism overlaps ideas about hypnotism,

Helen

commented:

mesmerism, control and influence. The figure of a dummy being controlled by a human is quite sinister but it has had an enduring appeal over time. In Victorian literature, the ventriloquists subject (the person being manipulated by another character) is most often female, which became the basis of my research into passivity, the balance of power and also feminism, as the women are not always passive and vulnerable, particularly in Neo-Victorian works where the traditional gendered power imbalance is challenged.

The new book, which is published by Palgrave Macmillan, has already sparked the interest of BBCs The One Show amongst others, with ventriloquism as an art form seeing a resurgence in the media. Helen added: The more edgy stand-up comedians, such as Nina Conti and Jeff Dunham, are giving the genre a new appeal: they use a dummy to be able to say what a human subject cant say. They have free reign to say what is not socially acceptable. Ventriloquism has a dark history but it is becoming more popular as it has started to become more challenging and deal with controversial subjects. The rise of TV talent shows like Britains Got Talent

has pushed the variety genre to the forefront and ventriloquism has always had a big part in the variety genre.

Ends

For further details please contact Carrie Braithwaite in the Communications team at Leeds Met on 0113 812 3022 or email c.braithwaite@leedsmet.ac.uk

Notes for editors: Leeds Metropolitan University has over 27,000 students and around 3,000 staff. The Vice Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University is Professor Susan Price and the Chair of the Board is Lord Woolmer of Leeds. Leeds Metropolitans four faculties are: Arts, Environment and Technology, Business & Law, Health and Social Sciences, and Carnegie. Leeds Metropolitans heritage can be traced back to the founding of the Mechanics Institute in Leeds in 1824. International students rated the University top in the UK for language support, accommodation quality and learning spaces in the 2010 Autumn Wave of the International Student Barometer and sixth in the

world for the quality of its lectures. We have over 1,500 international students from 122 countries around the globe. The Universitys award-winning learning environments include

Broadcasting Place, which was voted the best tall building in the world in 2010 by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and also winner of the 2010 Leeds Architecture Awards New Building category.