A century of weird fiction, 1832-1937 : disgust, metaphysics, and the aesthetics of cosmic horror / Jonathan Newell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Newell, Jonathan (College instructor), author.

Series:

Horror studies

Horror Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fantasy fiction--History and criticism.

Fantasy fiction.

Horror tales--History and criticism.

Horror tales.

Gothic fiction (Literary genre)--History and criticism.

Gothic fiction (Literary genre).

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

241 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cardiff : University of Wales Press, 2020.

Summary:

This book offers a new critical perspective on the weird that combines two ways of looking at weird and cosmic horror. On the one hand, critics have considered weird fiction in relation to aesthetics - the emotional effects and literary form of the weird. On the other hand, recent scholarship has also emphasised the potential philosophical underpinnings and implications of weird fiction, especially in relation to burgeoning philosophical movements such as new materialism and speculative realism. This study bridges the gap between these two approaches, considering the weird from its early outgrowth from the Gothic through to Lovecraft's stories - a 'weird century' from 1832-1937. Combining recent speculative philosophy and affect theory, it argues that weird fiction harnesses the affective power of disgust to provoke a re-examination of subjectival boundaries and the complex entanglement of the human and nonhuman. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction Metaphysical Malignancies p. 1

2 The Putrescent Principle Edgar Allan Poe p. 23

3 Ecstasies of Slime Arthur Machen p. 57

4 Horrible Enchantmenrs Algernon Blackwood p. 95

5 Disgusting Powers William Hope Hodgson p. 131

6 Daemonology of Unplumbed Space Howard Phillips Lovecraft p. 163.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1786835444

9781786835444

OCLC:

1110681900