Richard Stang, professor emeritus at Washington University and an expert on English literature, died Wednesday (Dec. 14, 2011) of pancreatic cancer. He was 86 and lived in University City.

Professor Stang was considered a leading authority on nineteenth-century English literature, particularly of the Victorian period.

"He wrote all these books and articles, but what he really loved was to teach," said Susan Hacker Stang, a photography professor at Webster University who married Professor Stang in 1992.

One of his graduate students, Ted Zorn, wrote his doctoral thesis with Professor Stang's guidance. Zorn went on to become a professor of literature at Georgetown University and the University of Minnesota.

"He had a deep and wide knowledge of all literature — and a deep and wide love of it," Zorn said. "He was always proud of his likes, unlike so many others who seem more proud of their dislikes."

Professor Stang grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. At 18, he joined the Army and became an infantryman, fighting in the European Theater.

After the war, Professor Stang enrolled at Columbia University, earning bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, the latter under the supervision of famed literary critic Lionel Trilling.

He taught at the University of Washington, City College of New York and Carleton College before joining Washington U. in 1961. He assumed emeritus status in 1997.

While at Carleton, Professor Stang wrote "The Theory of the Novel in England: 1850-1870."

His most recent scholarly work, "Critical Essays: Ford Madox Ford," was published in 2002.

A graveside service will be held Sunday on Long Island, N.Y.

In addition to his wife, among the survivors are a daughter, Elizabeth Anton of Chapel Hill, N.C.; two sons, David Stang of Clinton, N.Y., and Sam Stang of Augusta; and three grandchildren. His first wife, Sondra Stang, died in 1990.