Pittard (U. of Portsmouth, UK) uses an 1888 advertisement for soap ("Arrest all dirt and cleanse everything...") as graphic illustration of themes he develops in this study. His discussion
involves Victorian "...anxiety about material contamination and impurity, including a metaphorical category of crime as dirt..." (from the introduction). He examines works including The Mystery
of a Hansom Cab and The Strand Magazine and explores themes of medicine, vivisection, social purity, and the reinvention of Victorian criminality, among others. Annotation 穢2011 Book News,
Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
