Chaos and madness [electronic resource] : the politics of fiction in Stephen Marlowe's historical narratives / Mónica Calvo-Pascual.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Calvo-Pascual, Mónica.

Series:

Costerus ; new ser., v. 188.

Costerus ; new ser., 188

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics in literature.

Historical fiction.

Marlowe, Stephen, 1928-2008--Criticism and interpretation.

Marlowe, Stephen.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (213 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam : Rodopi, 2011.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

data file

Summary:

In the 1950's prolific U.S. fiction writer Stephen Marlowe became a cult author for lovers of noir fiction mainly for his Drumbeat series, which present his best-known character: private eye Chester Drum. Yet, the academia never paid much attention to his multifaceted, extensive oeuvre . Chaos and Madness is the first volume offering a critical approach to Marlowe’s riveting historical novels. Their relevance in the field of literary studies derives from their well-wrought structure and captivating prose as well as from their portrayal of remote European history – a distinctive feature that makes Marlowe a unique figure in the North American trend of historiographic metafiction. Chaos and Madness provides a comprehensive narratological and ideological analysis of three novels in which Marlowe deals with Spanish history. Preceded by an in-depth if reader-friendly theoretical chapter that traces the evolution of the historical novel as a genre, Calvo-Pascual’s meticulous investigation into Marlowe’s fiction proves compelling for anyone interested in contemporary American fiction, in Spanish history, or in the interaction of metafiction and the scientific discourse of chaos theory.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY AND THE NOVEL: AN OVERVIEW

MASTERING THE ART: THE HISTORICAL NOVEL AND LOCAL COLOR

BETWEEN MAGIC AND MADNESS: A PORTRAIT OF SPAIN AND ITS NEUROSES

POSTMODERN CRITIQUE AND THE HAND OF THE HISTORIAN

CHAOS, COMPLEXITY AND INTERPRETATION

BEYOND REFERENCE: HISTORIOGRAPHIC METAFICTION IMPINGED BY SCIENCE FICTION

THE NOVEL NEVER ENDS: ON ALTERNATIVE WORLDS, JEWISH CONNECTIONS AND INFINITE REGRESS

CONCLUDING REMARKS

NOVELS PUBLISHED BY MILTON LESSER UNDER THE FOLLOWING NAMES OR PSEUDONYMS

SHORT STORIES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-03460-3

9786613034601

90-420-3302-9

OCLC:

711871048