Gothic Canada : reading the spectre of a national literature / Justin D. Edwards.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edwards, Justin D., 1970- author.

Series:

cuRRents

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Canadian literature.

Canadian literature--20th century--History and criticism.

Gothic revival (Literature)--Canada.

Gothic revival (Literature).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (233 pages)

Place of Publication:

Edmonton, Alberta : University of Alberta Press, 2005.

Summary:

Canadians have always been obsessed with the idea of their own identities. Stories that tell us who we are provide a reassuring sense of identity for the individual and the nation. Hockey. Maple Leaves. Beavers. But collective stories tend to be haunted by a fear that a shared narrative might be nothing more than an elaborate artifice. This fear has long been a source of gothic inspiration for Canadian writers. A haunted Canadian self returns again and again. Polite. Friendly. Not American. With examples of gothic discourse from Canadian fiction, autobiography, film, poetry, and drama, Justin Edwards analyzes the ghost at the heart of the nation. A major contribution to cultural and literary studies, Gothic Canada unearths two centuries of Canadian gothic writings to reveal uncanny traditions of trauma, repression, and monstrosity.

Contents:

Dark journeys and Gothic travels

Niagara's abyss or locating the Gothic sublime

As for me and my haunted house: the spectral self and the Gothic

Dark cities and blank fictions

Gothicism, transgression and the law

Mapping a monstrous nation

Unearthing trauma, unburying the dead

Beyond the textual body

Post-Canada.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780888647603

0888647603

OCLC:

980842608