William Hope Hodgson and the rise of the weird : possibilities of the dark / Timothy S. Murphy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Murphy, Timothy S., author.

Series:

Perspectives on fantasy

Perspectives on Fantasy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hodgson, William Hope, 1877-1918.

Hodgson, William Hope.

British literature.

Fantasy literature.

Criticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2023.

System Details:

text file HTML

Summary:

The first comprehensive study of the works of William Hope Hodgson, one of the true innovators of Weird fiction, this book examines the Weird novels and stories upon which his posthumous reputation rests, his non-fantastic writing, identifiable literary influences, and the historical contexts in which he wrote. Focusing extensively upon major works such as The House on the Borderland (1908) and The Night Land (1912), Timothy S. Murphy surveys topics including Hodgson's experiments with code switching and linguistic experimentation; his depictions of racial and ethnic differences and gender and sexuality; the function of space and place in his writing; the adaptation of his shipboard experiences; and his use of abyssal time. With special attention paid to his paradoxical nihilist humanism, this book explores what made Hodgson a respected precursor to later innovators such as H. P. Lovecraft and C.L. Moore, and what makes him an important ancestor to 21st-century writers such as China Miéville, Greg Bear, and Charlie Jane Anders. Demonstrating how his work is both of his time and 'untimely', Murphy recovers Hodgson as the most significant figure to precede the fantastically popular but deeply controversial Lovecraft, as well as a figure whose work challenges what has thus far been accepted about the genre and the interpretive perspectives from which we view it.

ISBN:

9781350365728

OCLC:

1369655652

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.