Nineteenth-century Southern Gothic short fiction : haunted by the dark / edited by Charles L. Crow and Susan Castillo Street.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Crow, Charles L., editor.

Castillo, Susan P., 1948- editor.

Series:

Anthem studies in Gothic literature.

Anthem studies in Gothic literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Gothic fiction (Literary genre), American.

Gothic fiction (Literary genre), American--Southern States--19th century.

Short stories, American--Southern States--19th century.

Short stories, American.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vi, 227 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

London : Anthem Press, 2020.

Summary:

The gothic is a dark mirror of the fears and taboos of a culture. This collection brings together a dozen chilling tales of the nineteenth-century American South with non-fiction texts that illuminate them and ground them in their historical context. The tales are from writers with enduring, world-wide reputations (Edgar Allan Poe), and others whose work will be unknown to most readers. Indeed, one of the stories has not been reprinted for nearly a hundred years, and little is known about its author, E. Levi Brown. <br><br>Similarly, the historical selections are from a range of authors, some canonical, others not, ranging from Thomas Jefferson and the great historian and sociologist W. E. B. DuBois to the relatively obscure Leona Sansay. Some of these readings are themselves as disturbingly gothic as any of the tales. Indeed, the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction are tenuous in the gothic South. This book contends that southern gothic fiction is in many ways realistic fiction, and, even at its most grotesque and haunting, is closely linked to the realities of southern life.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 20 Jan 2022).

ISBN:

1-78527-388-4