Gothic Literature

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

New edition of bestselling introductory text outlining the history and ways of reading Gothic literature
This revised edition includes:
A new chapter on Contemporary Gothic which explores the Gothic of the early twenty first century and looks at new critical developments
An updated Bibliography of critical sources and a revised Chronology
The book opens with a Chronology and an Introduction to the principal texts and key critical terms, followed by five chapters: The Gothic Heyday 1760-1820; Gothic 1820-1865; Gothic Proximities 1865-1900; Twentieth Century; and Contemporary Gothic. The discussion examines how the Gothic has developed in different national contexts and in different forms, including novels, novellas, poems, films, radio and television. Each chapter concludes with a close reading of a specific text - Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Dracula, The Silence of the Lambs and The Historian - to illustrate ways in which contextual discussion informs critical analysis. The book ends with a Conclusion outlining possible future developments within scholarship on the Gothic.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Designed as a student introduction to the Gothic, Gothic Literature provides a historical overview of the Gothic mode of narrative, which spans literary genres and the 20th-century media of radio, film, and television. Smith (Univ. of Sheffield) develops a critical lens around the theme, anchored by Freud's 1919 essay "The Uncanny," and shows how the uncanny linking of familiar/unfamiliar continues to appear in US and British television programming with Gothic elements. All of the author's examples are further grounded in particular historical and cultural anxieties corresponding to the time period. Readers will find the information presented to be concise and accessible; Smith offers a chronology of cultural and historical events and key texts, and makes many suggestions for further reading in the bibliographies. Although each chapter ends with a summary and student questions, the bullet points are extremely general statements of the content and seem less likely to be useful. The discussion questions often ask for statements of facts that may yield answers but do not necessarily invite discussion or deeper critical thinking. Despite these criticisms, the book would be a useful addition to public and academic libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates, graduate students, and general readers. C. L. Bandish Bluffton University