The Lives of Machines: The Industrial Imaginary in Victorian Literature and Culture

(University of Michigan Press) This book explores how the industrial revolution affected language — giving us phrases like “letting off steam” or feeling “under pressure.” Ketabgian, looking at British literature from the 1830s to 1870s, traces the emergence of a more modern and mechanical view of human nature in Victorian literature and culture. Ketabgian is an associate professor and chair of English at Beloit College.