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Gothic Fiction
This Reader's Guide focuses upon Gothic fiction produced predominantly in the Romantic era (1780-1820). Angela Wright assembles some of the most important critical writings about Romantic Gothic literature since its inception to the present day. The Guide begins by charting the moral and political panic provoked by Gothic's increasing popularity in the 1790s, and then examines the genre's recuperation as a serious area of literary study through aesthetic, political, psychoanalytic and gender criticism.
- GenresNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published July 10, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 7, 2017
Wright's Gothic Fiction is an undeniably useful book, and its usefulness is grounded in Wright's vast knowledge of both "first wave" (1764-1820) Gothic fiction and critical responses to it penned between the late eighteenth century and the present.
The book, which repeatedly and bafflingly refers to itself as a capital-G "Guide" (for instance, see 83 and 150), lacks intellectual urgency and manages to render a scintillating subject quite dull. As a "Guide," it may lead readers, especially undergraduates, to find sorely un-engaging both "first-wave" Gothic and literary criticism, when both are often invigorating.
It was for me a slow difficult book, not because the subject matter is complex-- its ideas are quite clear, accessible, and reasonably organized. The difficulty is Wright's prose, which is sometimes stolid and sometimes, well, unpolished, sloppy. It's no captivating, sharply dressed docent. In support of my latter assertion regarding the prose, what follows are three quick bits of evidence, the first two highlighting ineffectively repetitive verbiage (bolding is my addition) and the third reading like a first draft rather than a published piece of writing that engages smoothly with readers:
1. "His later focus upon Bluebeard is in part derived from Godwin himself. In his preface to the later 'Standard Novels Edition' issued by Bentley, Godwin himself traced his source back to the Bluebeard of the French poet..." (70-71).
2. "During the past decade, two journals, Women's Writing and Gothic Studies, have devoted special issues to a range of essays which explore 'Female Gothic.' In 1994, the first issue of the journal Women's Writing, guest-edited by Robert Miles, was devoted to 'Female Gothic'" (128).
3. "While the centrality of the 1790s to the Gothic has just been identified, the range of responses offered here is grouped around 1797. Why 1797? A glance at a table which details the publication of new novels in Britain between 1770 and 1800 in James Raven’s essay 'The Novel Comes of Age' (2000) indicates that novel-production reaches a peak between 1795 and 1800…" (15).
Read first-wave Gothic novels. Raid Wright's bibliography for secondary sources. Turn to the Miles and Cleary edited collection Gothic Documents for primary sources more carefully-- dare I say lovingly?-- framed.
The book, which repeatedly and bafflingly refers to itself as a capital-G "Guide" (for instance, see 83 and 150), lacks intellectual urgency and manages to render a scintillating subject quite dull. As a "Guide," it may lead readers, especially undergraduates, to find sorely un-engaging both "first-wave" Gothic and literary criticism, when both are often invigorating.
It was for me a slow difficult book, not because the subject matter is complex-- its ideas are quite clear, accessible, and reasonably organized. The difficulty is Wright's prose, which is sometimes stolid and sometimes, well, unpolished, sloppy. It's no captivating, sharply dressed docent. In support of my latter assertion regarding the prose, what follows are three quick bits of evidence, the first two highlighting ineffectively repetitive verbiage (bolding is my addition) and the third reading like a first draft rather than a published piece of writing that engages smoothly with readers:
1. "His later focus upon Bluebeard is in part derived from Godwin himself. In his preface to the later 'Standard Novels Edition' issued by Bentley, Godwin himself traced his source back to the Bluebeard of the French poet..." (70-71).
2. "During the past decade, two journals, Women's Writing and Gothic Studies, have devoted special issues to a range of essays which explore 'Female Gothic.' In 1994, the first issue of the journal Women's Writing, guest-edited by Robert Miles, was devoted to 'Female Gothic'" (128).
3. "While the centrality of the 1790s to the Gothic has just been identified, the range of responses offered here is grouped around 1797. Why 1797? A glance at a table which details the publication of new novels in Britain between 1770 and 1800 in James Raven’s essay 'The Novel Comes of Age' (2000) indicates that novel-production reaches a peak between 1795 and 1800…" (15).
Read first-wave Gothic novels. Raid Wright's bibliography for secondary sources. Turn to the Miles and Cleary edited collection Gothic Documents for primary sources more carefully-- dare I say lovingly?-- framed.
March 11, 2014
I've had a correspondence with Dr. Wright which is what prompted me to buy her book on gothic fiction. It's fantastic especially in a survey course or a course dedicated to gothic fiction. Her interests are very close to mine which made this book even more of a treasure-trove for me! If I ever have the chance to use this in a classroom I wouldn't hesitate. I highly recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews