Synopses & Reviews
Gothic as a form of fiction-making has played a major role in Western culture since the late eighteenth century. Here fourteen world-class experts on the Gothic provide thorough and revealing accounts of this haunting-to-horrifying type of fiction from the 1760s (the decade of The Castle of Otranto, the first so-called 'Gothic story') to the end of the twentieth century (an era haunted by filmed and computerized Gothic simulations). Along the way, essays explore the connections of Gothic fictions to political and industrial revolutions, the realistic novel, the theater, Romantic and post-Romantic poetry, nationalism and racism from Europe to America, colonized and post-colonial populations, the rise of film and other visual technologies, the struggles between 'high' and 'popular' culture, and changing psychological attitudes towards human identity, gender and sexuality, and the obscure lines between life and death, sanity and madness. The volume also includes a chronology and guides to further reading.
Review
"Contributors also emphasize that the 'gothic' novel was not strictly English, but that it had many more outreaches. Although some essays include considerable political theorizing, the language does not overwhelm.... Recommended." Choice
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-310), filmography (p. 311-312) and index.
Synopsis
Fourteen world-class experts on the Gothic provide thorough accounts of this haunting-to-horrifying genre from the 1760s to the end of the twentieth century. Essays explore the connections of Gothic fictions to political and industrial revolutions, the realistic novel, the theater, Romantic and post-Romantic poetry, nationalism and racism from Europe to America, colonized and post-colonial populations, the rise of film, the struggles between "high" and "popular" culture, and changing attitudes towards human identity, life and death, sanity and madness. The volume also includes a chronology and guides to further reading.
About the Author
Jerrold E. Hogle is Professor of English and University Distinguished Professor, University of Arizona. He has published widely in Romantic literature, cultural theory, and the Gothic, and he is Past President of the International Gothic Association. His publications include Shelley's Process and The Undergrounds of 'The Phantom of the Opera' and his essays have appeared in several major collections, as well as journals ranging from Studies in Romanticism, the Keats-Shelley Journal and European Romantic Review to the new Gothic Studies.
Table of Contents
Preface; Contributors; Chronology; 1. Introduction: The 'Gothic' in Western culture Jerrold E. Hogle; 2. The genesis of 'Gothic' fiction E. J. Clery; 3. The 1790s: the effulgence of the Gothic Robert Miles; 4. The continental Gothic Terry Hale; 5. Gothic fictions and Romantic writing in Britain Michael Gamer; 6. The Scottish and Irish Gothic David Punter; 7. English Gothic theatre Jeffrey N. Cox; 8. The Victorian Gothic in English novels and stories, 1830-85 Alison Milbank; 9. The rise of American Gothic Eric Savoy; 10. Gothic fiction at the turn of the century, 1885-1930 Kelly Hurley; 11. The Gothic on screen Misha Kavka; 12. The colonial and post-colonial Gothic Lizabeth Paravinisi-Gebert; 13. The contemporary Gothic Steven Bruhm; 14. Aftergothic (consumption, machines, and Black Holes) Fred Botting; Guide to further reading; Index.