Gothic Literature

Edinburgh Critical Guides to Literature

by Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith

This introductory study provides a thorough grounding in both the history of Gothic literature and the way in which Gothic texts have been (and can be) critically read.

The book opens with a chronology and an introduction to the principal texts and key critical terms, followed by four chapters: The Gothic Heyday 1760-1820; Gothic 1820-1865; Gothic Proximities 1865-1900; and the Twentieth Century. The discussion examines how the Gothic has developed in different national contexts and in different forms, including novels, novellas, poems, and films. Each chapter concludes with a close reading of a specific text - Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Dracula and The Silence of the Lambs - to illustrate the ways in which contextual discussion informs critical analysis. The book ends with a conclusion outlining possible future developments within scholarship on the Gothic.

Key Features

*Provides a single, comprehensive and accessible introduction to Gothic literature

*Offers a coherent account of the historical development of the Gothic in a range of literary and national contexts

*Introduces the ways in which critical theories of class, gender, race and national identity have been applied to Gothic texts

*Includes an outline of essential resources and a guide to further reading

Genres: Gothic, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Academic, Books About Books

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Professor of English Studies, Head of English and Modern Languages and Co-Director of the Research Centre for Literature, Arts, and Science at the University of Glamorgan.

"My research interests are in Gothic literature, literature and science, nineteenth century literature, and critical theory. I have published widely in these areas and have given conference papers on related topics in the UK and in North America, Canada, Spain, France, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. In 2007 I delivered a keynote address at the International Gothic Association conference held in Aix-en-Provence. I was elected Joint President of the International Gothic Association in 2009 and re-elected in 2011. I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2007 and elected a Fellow of the English Association in 2008."

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, this was a better introductory-analytical companion to Gothic literature compared to Fred Botting's Gothic. It is a well-written, well-researched, quite comprehensive chronological dive into many works of gothic literature from its early manifestations in romantic poetry and the writings of Radcliffe and Lewis to the fin de siècle gothic of Shelley and Stevenson. The concluding chapter, while intriguing in intention (it deals with modern and postmodern incarnations of gothic) is too short; Perhaps the choice to grapple with such a dense and broad subject in just one chapter is too ambitious. However, it still might serve as a brief and useful introduction to be followed by the myriad of texts suggested at the end of the book as further reading.

[Burcu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitaplarla ilgili kitapları bir başlangıç noktası sağladıkları için severim. Ailenizin listeci-başı olarak sizlere yardımcı olmağa geldim :)

Kitap, Gotik Edebiyatını (sadece kitaplar değil, filmler ve diziler de var!) birkaç dönem altında inceliyor. Şimdiye kadar gördüklerimin en iyisi ama yeterli değil, biz bu türe gönül vermişiz ;)

- The Gothic Heyday 1760-1820: Bu edebiyatın ilk dönemi ve bu dönemdeki temel eserler


- Gothic 1820-1865: 1820-1865 yılları arasındaki gelişimi ve bu dönemdeki önemli eserler


- Gothic Proximities 1865-1900: 1865-1900 yılları arasındaki Gotik edebiyatın yakınlıkları ve bu dönemdeki eserler


- Twentieth Century: 20. yüzyılda Gotik edebiyatın evrimi ve bu dönemdeki önemli eserler


- Contemporary Gothic: Çağdaş Gotik edebiyatı ve erken 21. yüzyıldaki yeni eleştirel gelişmeler


Bu kitabı oturup ayrıntıntılı okumadım, bunun yerine içinde geçen kitapları okumağı tercih ederim :)

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief overview of the gothic genre, beginning with its inception in the works of Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe and the graveyard poets and moving through to then-contemporaneous works in other media at the outset of the 20th century. Smith tackles numerous areas through a combination of potted histories and textual analysis, while introducing a number of different areas of study and some key theorists. It's hardly in depth, but it makes for a fine starting point for further exploration.

[Tim Rideout · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview, comprehensive and yet concise and engaging. Invaluable for all those who study Gothic literature.

[E.S. Ekeliden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is, as it claims, a nice introductionary guide to the Gothic. It works well for both beginners, those who seek to gain further knowledge of the subject, and those who have no previous knowledge of the subject. Andrew Smith touches a round of important perspectives, like historical, feminist, and cultural in general. It also offers the reader information of both famous novels and novels which are, perhaps, a bit forgotten. If you want to get to know Gothic novels and their authors on a personal plane, this is a book for you. As long as you don't mind the spoilers that is.

There are a few sentences which sounded strange, as if a word or two was missing, and I do miss H.P. Lovecraft in the chapter about twentieth century Gothic, but those are things that I can overlook and therefore they do not hurt the score. Especially since this was a pleasure to read from the beginning to the end.

I will have to read it a second time though, perhaps a third even, so I can fully grasp all the points (non-fiction is not my strongest suit).