Somatic FictionsSomatic Fictions focuses on the centrality of illnessparticularly psycho somatic illnessas an imaginative construct in Victorian culture, emphasizing how it shaped the terms through which people perceived relationships between body and mind, self and other, private and public. Vrettos uses nineteenth century fiction, diaries, medical treatises, and health advice manuals to examine how Victorians tried to understand and control their world through a