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What was the fin de siècle? It was The Gilded Age in America. The Yellow Nineties in Great Britain. The waning of the Victorian era. The closing of a century.
The fin de siècle was decadence and degeneration. Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley. The New Woman and the suffragettes. The birth of psychology and sexology. Consumerism and commercialization. The Yellow Book and the yellow press. It was a time of purple patches and fine phrases. A time of shocking as a fine art. It was a time when the quest for beauty was not yet cliché.
“The fin de siècle may have been at once a swan song and a death-bed repentance…” ~Holbrook Jackson
I hope this site will become a place for collaboration, imagination, and creativity. I look forward to sharing my research and random finds relating to the fin de siècle. And I hope you will share yours! I envision this site as a place for art lovers, bibliophiles, and history-buffs, as well as teachers, students, and lovers of the aesthetic life.
I welcome submissions, and I also welcome suggestions for book reviews or other article ideas. The general time span I will focus on is 1885-1905 (though I’m sure I will wander a bit beyond those from time-to-time). Also, if you have any interesting information on exhibits, related publications, films, or links, do not hesitate to share them.
About me: I am currently a PhD student in English literature, working on my dissertation. I am also on the board of the Oscholars, an organization devoted to fin de siecle scholarship. My interest lies in the intersection between fine art and ephemeral culture, particularly magazines and fashion. I am also deeply interested in aestheticism and the Aesthetic movement in Europe and America.
Thanks so much for visiting The Fin de Siècle!
Cheers,
Tara Aveilhe
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