Gothic literature / Andrew Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Andrew, 1964-

Series:

Edinburgh critical guides to literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gothic revival (Literature)--Great Britain.

Gothic revival (Literature).

American literature.

Great Britain.

Gothic revival (Literature)--United States.

United States.

English literature--18th century--History and criticism.

English literature.

English literature--19th century--History and criticism.

American literature--18th century--History and criticism.

American literature--19th century--History and criticism.

Physical Description:

xxvi, 201 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2007]

Summary:

This introductory study provides a thorough grounding in both the history of Gothic literature and the way in which Gothic texts have been (and can be) critically read. The book opens with a Chronology and an Introduction to the principal texts and key critical terms, followed by four chapters: The Gothic Heyday 1760-1820; Gothic 1820-1865; Gothic Proximities 1865-1900; and the Twentieth Century. The discussion examines how the Gothic has developed in different national contexts and in different forms, including novels, novellas, poems and films. Each chapter concludes with a close reading of a specific text - Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Dracula and The Silence of the Lambs - to illustrate the ways in which contextual discussion informs critical analysis. The book ends with a Conclusion outlining possible future developments within scholarship on the Gothic.

Key Features: Provides a single, comprehensive and accessible introduction to Gothic literature, Offers a coherent account of the historical development of the Gothic in a range of literary and national contexts, Introduces the ways in which critical theories of class, gender, race and national identity have been applied to Gothic texts, Includes a list of essential resources and a guide to further reading.

Contents:

Gothic Histories 2

Reading the Gothic 5

Burke 10

Freud 13

Chapter 1 The Gothic Heyday, 1760-1820 18

Defining the Gothic: Otranto 18

Radcliffe and Lewis 25

American Gothic 33

Reading Frankenstein 41

Chapter 2 The Gothic, 1820-1865 52

Gothic Mutations: Poetry 52

Edgar Allan Poe and the American Gothic 61

Gothic Mutations: Prose 68

Reading Jane Eyre 75

Chapter 3 Gothic Proximities, 1865-1900 87

Hidden Identities: Ghosts 87

Gothic Doubles 94

Race and History: Post-bellum Gothic 102

Reading Dracula 109

Chapter 4 Twentieth Century 122

The Ghost Story as the End of Gothic? 122

Radio and Film 132

Contemporary Fiction: Postmodern Gothic? 140

Reading The Silence of the Lambs 148

Student Resources 170

Sample Essay 170.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-196) and index.

ISBN:

9780748623693

0748623698

0748623701

9780748623709

OCLC:

144596378