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

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Newell, Jonathan, author.

Series:

Horror studies.

Horror studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fantasy fiction--History and criticism.

Fantasy fiction.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (241 pages).

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.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781786835468

1786835460

OCLC:

1151544886