Rape in Period Drama Television considers the representation of rape and rape myths in a number of the most influential recent television period dramas. Like the corset, has become a shorthand for women's oppression in the past. Sexual violence has long been, and still is, commonplace in television period drama, often used to add authenticity and realism to shows or as a sensationalist means of chasing ratings. However, the authors illustrate that the depiction of rape is more than a mere reminder that the past was a dangerous place for women (and some men). In these series, they argue, rape functions as a kind of "anti-heritage" device that dispels the nostalgia usually associated with period television and reflects back on the current cultural moment, in which the #MeToo and #Timesup movement have increased awareness of the prevalence of sexual abuse, but in which legal and political processes have not yet caught up. In doing so, Rape in Period Drama Television sets out to explore the assumptions and beliefs which audiences continue to hold about rape, rapists, and victims.
Katherine Byrne is lecturer of English at Ulster University. Julie Anne Taddeo is research professor of history at University of Maryland.
Given its preponderance in so much period drama, it is, I suppose, symptomatic of the relative normalization of sexual violence on screen that the depiction of rape has been largely neglected in media scholarship. Tis book therefore not only fills a gap in the conventional sense, it also alters the discursive lens, bringing into powerful focus the way in which rape is so taken for granted as a regular trope, despite the genre's 'cosy' image. From Poldark to Peaky Blinders, and from Downton Abbey to Outlander, rape has been a core plot element, used to drive dramatic tension and suspense, to define or transform characters, and--of course-- to iterate, and occasionally to problematize, ideologies of gendered power. Yet its depiction remains a profoundly contested issue. Rape in Period Drama Television by Katherine Byrne and Julie Anne Taddeo is therefore timely, coming in the wake of and responding to #MeToo and other campaigns concerning sexual exploitation, and critically interrogating the extent to which rape has been a recurrent feature of every variation within the genre from literary adaptations to gangster narratives... [This] is an extremely important intervention into the history of the genre and of the representation of sexual violence on television. -- "Modern Language Review" The informative nature and wide scope of this book provide valuable discussion points for further research and offer substantial academic insight into the presentation and perception of rape in film, literature, and society. -- "Journal of Popular Culture"
