From foreboding storms and moonlit moorland strolls to jovial fireside gatherings, lighting is a critical character in the Victorian novel.

In art, chiaroscuro (Italian for ‘light-dark’) refers to the balance or contrast between light and shadow in a painting or drawing. It is a powerful technique that can inform the atmosphere, mood and even genre of one’s subject. The presence of light or darkness can play a similar role in literature: creating suspense, drama and mystery or signalling life, hope and salvation.

Unlike modern methods of illumination, nineteenth-century sources of light were dim, smoky and could often be dangerous. Cheaper tallow candles (made from animal fat rather than beeswax) had a strong odour and produced copious amounts of smoke. While the wealthy dwelt in large well-lit rooms (illuminated by the latest gas lamps or large chandeliers) the poor often gathered around a single hearthside or worked long hours in sparsely lit factories.

Tip: When writing about light take into account intensity, hue, and temperature. Remember smaller, more intimate sources of light (like candles and oil lamps) only cast light on a limited area. What is being illuminated and from what direction? Are there shadows produced? Backlit objects, for example, might appear to have a glow around them.

The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already—it had not been light all day—and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.

Research Activity: Let there be Light

This activity can also be downloaded as a handout here.