illiam R. Terpening '98 began the summer of 1997 as a would-be "Ruskinian", but gradually developed offputting and alarming Pater-Wildean, or aesthetic, tendencies with distracting "Gilbertian" undertones; he is certain that he will soon grow out of them, but sure that he is a much more fashionable dresser for it all.
His work on the Victorian Web ranges from an overhaul of the sections on the Aesthetes and Decadents--including the addition of sections, graphics and illustrations, and a panoply of pages on Oscar Wilde and Walter Horatio Pater--to a section and pages for a new Music and Theater overview.
The summer also bore interesting papers, material, and assorted observations involving Ruskin's Nature of Gothic, Epicurus, Sir Arthur Sullivan, Strauss' Salome, Aesthetic Occultism, Thackeray, the uses of the Victorian child-image (the subject of his honors thesis), the noises beneath the bed, and a number of other themes and topics that elude him at the moment.
William Terpening graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in Honors English Literature and the Visual Arts in 1998. Those interested in what happened afterwards should check out his personal web pages.
He would like to thank both George P. Landow and Brown University for affording him the opportunity to make a good start to his studies in the period. He must also acknowledge the positive benefits of the Golden Voice of Dean Martin, and hopes to continue work on the Victorian Web and similar projects until he winds up like poor old Mr. Ruskin.
Last updated 17 May 2014