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Gothic: An Illustrated History
The story of the Gothic, from early architecture and literature to the modern horror genre, illustrated by the beautiful, the macabre and the strange.
Crumbling ruins, undead fiends, dark alleys and forests teeming with horrors seen and unseen: the tendrils of the Gothic have crept out of the architecture of churches, mosques and grand houses and into suburban malls, overcrowded cities, the deserted corners of the world and beyond, taking the shape of monsters from Beowulf to Gojira, Cthulhu or the wendigo to our own terrifying, warped reflections. Across time, form and media, this book traces the weaving path of the Gothic from the shadows of history to the very heart of popular culture today.
Crumbling ruins, undead fiends, dark alleys and forests teeming with horrors seen and unseen: the tendrils of the Gothic have crept out of the architecture of churches, mosques and grand houses and into suburban malls, overcrowded cities, the deserted corners of the world and beyond, taking the shape of monsters from Beowulf to Gojira, Cthulhu or the wendigo to our own terrifying, warped reflections. Across time, form and media, this book traces the weaving path of the Gothic from the shadows of history to the very heart of popular culture today.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2021
56 people are currently reading
1238 people want to read
About the author
Roger Luckhurst
61 books42 followersRoger Luckhurst is a British writer and academic. He is Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London and was Distinguished Visiting Professor at Columbia University in 2016. He works on Victorian literature, contemporary literature, Gothic and weird fiction, trauma studies, and speculative/science fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
October 24, 2022
This book references every single thing I have ever liked excepting perhaps only Gilmore Girls and Jane Austen. I expected it to be about more of an evolution of gothic and goth, (like how did we get from architecture to the goth people I went to high school with?) but it was more of a cultural textbook covering different themes within Gothicness, mentioning tons of movies and only a scattering of art and literature. Parts were fascinating and others lost me a bit.
December 26, 2024
A stunning and generous exploration of the Gothic across books, films, and video games. I've had my eye on Luckhurst for awhile and he doesn't disappoint. He touches on many variants of the Gothic, from architectural forms, ruins, and haunts to borderlands, hybrids, and the cosmic beyond. Each entry consists of only a few pages, but they're surprisingly deep and nuanced.
Luckhurst begins with a genealogy that locates the Gothic in Christian and Islamic architectures, seen as imbalanced and barbarous by neoclassical scholars. Discourses on the sublime and ruination circle around infinity, mortality, and fragmentation. Though the Gothic cathedral ascends toward the divine sky, its mirror image in crumbling castles and manors evokes human finitude. The historical past, as incomplete, fragmentary, and ruined, is simulated in Romantic works, which cohere a distinct literary style.
As the Gothic spread across the globe, it became situated in different places and times: the manor/plantation a site of barbaric patriarchy and slavery, the village a wellspring of superstition then pagan joy, and the wilderness a desolate space of nonhuman indifference turned to thriving posthuman enmeshment. The Gothic even moves into the suburbs, a place haunted by the inhuman (rather than the nonhuman). Disaffected teens, serial killers, and undead masses paradoxically lose their humanity due to humanity.
Luckhurst is deeply sympathetic to the Othering of marginalised peoples and beings. Without discounting the importance Gothic Romance, Folk Horror, Weird Fiction, and many more genres, he places foundational texts against newer ones aligned with Postcolonialism, Black Feminism, Queer Theory, and Speculative Realism. Beloved and Get Out remix the Southern Gothic, depicting a Deep South haunted by white supremacy and colonialism. Godzilla and Annihilation deploy Eco-Horror to disrupt the sublime, showing the codependent arising of human and natural phenomena, and their mutual responsibility to one another. The Wicker Man and The Witch depict the power of puritan moralism to, ironically, push people towards paganism and sin. Hell, even The Mask of Fu Manchu is met with Resident Evil, a game that zombifies the Yellow Peril (and its Eastern horde) into a critique of American imperialism and unregulated capitalism. The Zombie Apocalypse was an inside job all along, driven by a nation state whose paranoid militarism engenders cosmic terror. These revelations are found in the basement of a corporate retreat that resembles a plantation manor! What would Fanon say to that, I wonder?
I cannot praise this book enough. Show it to your friends who have never engaged with theory! It's a fantastic way to introduce them to big thinks, because Luckhurst doesn't overwhelm with new terms, and he gives plenty of fun examples to look into. Also, the pictures rule~~~
Luckhurst begins with a genealogy that locates the Gothic in Christian and Islamic architectures, seen as imbalanced and barbarous by neoclassical scholars. Discourses on the sublime and ruination circle around infinity, mortality, and fragmentation. Though the Gothic cathedral ascends toward the divine sky, its mirror image in crumbling castles and manors evokes human finitude. The historical past, as incomplete, fragmentary, and ruined, is simulated in Romantic works, which cohere a distinct literary style.
As the Gothic spread across the globe, it became situated in different places and times: the manor/plantation a site of barbaric patriarchy and slavery, the village a wellspring of superstition then pagan joy, and the wilderness a desolate space of nonhuman indifference turned to thriving posthuman enmeshment. The Gothic even moves into the suburbs, a place haunted by the inhuman (rather than the nonhuman). Disaffected teens, serial killers, and undead masses paradoxically lose their humanity due to humanity.
Luckhurst is deeply sympathetic to the Othering of marginalised peoples and beings. Without discounting the importance Gothic Romance, Folk Horror, Weird Fiction, and many more genres, he places foundational texts against newer ones aligned with Postcolonialism, Black Feminism, Queer Theory, and Speculative Realism. Beloved and Get Out remix the Southern Gothic, depicting a Deep South haunted by white supremacy and colonialism. Godzilla and Annihilation deploy Eco-Horror to disrupt the sublime, showing the codependent arising of human and natural phenomena, and their mutual responsibility to one another. The Wicker Man and The Witch depict the power of puritan moralism to, ironically, push people towards paganism and sin. Hell, even The Mask of Fu Manchu is met with Resident Evil, a game that zombifies the Yellow Peril (and its Eastern horde) into a critique of American imperialism and unregulated capitalism. The Zombie Apocalypse was an inside job all along, driven by a nation state whose paranoid militarism engenders cosmic terror. These revelations are found in the basement of a corporate retreat that resembles a plantation manor! What would Fanon say to that, I wonder?
I cannot praise this book enough. Show it to your friends who have never engaged with theory! It's a fantastic way to introduce them to big thinks, because Luckhurst doesn't overwhelm with new terms, and he gives plenty of fun examples to look into. Also, the pictures rule~~~
January 1, 2022
This copious overview of the Gothic is vastly entertaining and informative. Elegantly structured in four 80 page sections, this eclectic history nevertheless wanders and loops through a range of recurring themes, emphasizing the genre’s ability to shift, mutate and reinvent itself. Citations would have been helpful and the book can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a scholarly monograph or coffee table book, but as a kind of holiday annual for adults it works marvelously.
March 23, 2025
Očekivala sam da će knjiga pomenuti neke veoma gothic filmove iz novijeg doba (Stoker, Crimson Peak), ali iznenađujuće, nisu se našli u ovom pregledu. Ipak, Roger Luckhurst otvara vrata u jedan mnogo širi i složeniji svet nego što sam očekivala, tako da su se mnogi filmovi našli na mojoj to-watch listi.
Kroz bogato ilustrovanu hronologiju, knjiga vodi čitaoca kroz sve oblike gotičkog izraza – od literature i slikarstva do arhitekture i pop kulture.
Fascinantno je koliko toga zapravo potpada pod ovaj žanr, a da to na prvi pogled ne bismo rekli. Za sve ljubitelje mračnog, zagonetnog i simboličnog – ovo izdanje je pravi vizuelni dragulj, ali i temeljna studija o kulturnom značaju gotičkog senzibiliteta.
Kroz bogato ilustrovanu hronologiju, knjiga vodi čitaoca kroz sve oblike gotičkog izraza – od literature i slikarstva do arhitekture i pop kulture.
Fascinantno je koliko toga zapravo potpada pod ovaj žanr, a da to na prvi pogled ne bismo rekli. Za sve ljubitelje mračnog, zagonetnog i simboličnog – ovo izdanje je pravi vizuelni dragulj, ali i temeljna studija o kulturnom značaju gotičkog senzibiliteta.
March 20, 2025
Paljon tietoa aiheesta ja hyvät, selkeät kuvat. Tekstiä oli aika runsaasti, että otti aikaa kun oma vieraskielinen lukeminen ei ole niin nopeaa. Mielenkiintoinen kirja kaikenkaikkiaan.
September 26, 2021
This book sits comfortably between academic text and pop culture coffee table book and it was an absolute joy to read as a fan of the Gothic.
Instead of moving chronologically, Luckhurst picks themes and explores them with everything from 18th century rich British weirdos to 21st century Korean film. It’s fascinating and I’m absolutely going to buy a print copy.
The biggest draw is the collection of photos and illustrations Luckhurst gathered. (Pac-Man is beside a Greek labyrinth at one point.) I loved learning the different expressions of the Gothic and wondering at the parts of me that enjoy gothic literature and art considering the variety of prejudices and fears from which the Gothic springs.
The rare nonfiction book that I could read in one sitting and enjoy.
Disclosure: I reviewed this for Shelf Awareness and received a digital review copy from the publisher.
Instead of moving chronologically, Luckhurst picks themes and explores them with everything from 18th century rich British weirdos to 21st century Korean film. It’s fascinating and I’m absolutely going to buy a print copy.
The biggest draw is the collection of photos and illustrations Luckhurst gathered. (Pac-Man is beside a Greek labyrinth at one point.) I loved learning the different expressions of the Gothic and wondering at the parts of me that enjoy gothic literature and art considering the variety of prejudices and fears from which the Gothic springs.
The rare nonfiction book that I could read in one sitting and enjoy.
Disclosure: I reviewed this for Shelf Awareness and received a digital review copy from the publisher.
June 2, 2024
[Срж готике (ис)цедио сам овде (види под II). Лакхарст пружа основни течај са прегршт референци за књигољупце и филмофиле, где би сваки стручњак у својој области требало да види нешто с оне стране, тешко доступно лаицима. Нажалост, оно што стално потцртавам, већина (млађих) биолога заправо не зна и не могу сасвим да их кривим што не ваде носеве из епрувета, али то је прича о специјализацији/роботизацији, не сасвим лишена готике.]
Пази шта желиш, можда ти се оствари. Тачно! Моја жеља да се разбољевам како бих одсуствовао са посла ми се испунила по пети пут од септембра. Ово боловање закључујем са неколико околних смрти и једном самрћу. Danse macabre уз screamo стихове “Breathe easy / The doctors are about to arrive / What a passive thought when the truth is that I've taken your life” комеша се са јапанским visual kei напевима и shoegaze/goth призивачима духова. Иако ово делује као трагикомични пастиш, Франкенштајнов отпадак, у ствари је злослутни и метаморфни асамблаж, баш каква је и сама готика – вечито у покрету: флуидна, змијугава, односна, односећа, одвећ променљива… Луталаштво, трансгресивност, психогеографија, назначиће Лакхарст, као и наскоци вучјих паукова из напрслих механизама одбране, у стравичној мрежи живота – откровење огледалника, двојника-понорника.
Заиста, готово свакодневни сусрети са руинираним здањем у кораку препуном осећаја апсурда и једа домино-готичара који презире плезир и шегртанлук, гмизање уз туђу длаку и замисао, стварају додатни отпор и гађење од дубоко политизованог озрачја; оно урличе декаденцију једног балканског проклетства, тлачитељског самолижућег таворништва, мрак једне човечије рибице која са ружичастих облака жвали своје стадо… Такве индустријске развалине су rivethead или cybergoth, али не и gothic; то је сензибилитет приказане предметности у спотовима Deeper Into You (Ludovico Technique) или No Way Out (Not Enough Space), а не (квази)антикварна руина коју Вордсворт посматра једним око, док другим жмури на оближњу фабрику, цензуришући екоцидно, да би сањарио питорескно и грандиозно-зазорно, сублимно. Готика је управо то скривено-откривено, али не порнографски обнажено, већ севнуто кроз маглу.
Готика су и варварски, дрско зашиљени лукови, вртоглави преломи кроз п(а)учину витража, као и покисли љуспасти гаргојли; то су хировите куће, макар “две квир” (Стробери Хил и Фонтхил Еби), прожимање култура и крви, факата и фикције, фрагмената и целине, путоказа и лавиринта, исценираног и стварног, божанског и дијаболичног, урбаног и руралног, рационалног и ирационалног, арктичког и антарктичког, српско-вампирског и египатско-мумијског, Рагнарока и гротла Осоре, чуда и чудовишта, хибридизације, химеризма, тератологије и териантропије… Екоготика руши утопијске, освајачке и романтичарске митове о наводно девичанској дивљини коју треба дефлорисати, питајући – зашто баш њу?! Трансготика понире у поноре дисфорије и разодева родно фиксирану у разнородну природу. Ботаничка готика или биљни хорор поред осветничког наратива проблематизује и размаштава агенсност. Прошлост и садашњост, сан и јава, хибридизују у нешто фолклорескно, искачуће-киберпросторно (creepypasta) или чудно интерспецијски-пермеабилно (weirdos & queerdos). “Готика уземљена у мрачне екологије места које се опиру уопштавању и уједначавању савременог урбаног простора,” готика рубних области (edgelands), очуђења, панк крајолика, природокултурних титраја на ивици истребљења, вастације ефемерног и минорног битка под механичком клопком индиферентног свемира…
「この目が染め上がっていく 君は何を見つめている？」
Sidenotes
• 80-их год. ХIX в. Џон Лабок је испитивао мраве у лавиринтима, а 1901. је Вилијем Смол први учинио исто са пацовима.
• Спиритуализам је почео као превара сестара Фокс 1848. год.
• 2016. физичари честица на Антарктику добијају податке који делију као аномалија – Кунова револуција на помолу?
• Ghost Danse Movement – амерички домороци који су се уздали у помоћ натприродних сила беху масакрирани од стране белаца.
• У филму Cat People жена-мачка је Српскиња Ирена. Претходни помен Срба у књизи тиче се, наравно, вампирске панике и Дракуле, што у контемплацији наше крваве историје изналази термин Балканске готике (Весна Голдсворти).
• “In 1735, Linnaeus actually travelled to Hamburg to inspect the 'seven-headed hydra', a famous Church relic then held in the collection of the Burgomeister of the town, and pronounced it a fake, the seven heads made of the jaws and claws of weasels glued onto snake skins. He suggested that the monks had fashioned it to match the description of the seven-headed beast of the Book of Revelation. His public pronouncement and challenge to religious authority over the artefact was deeply unpopular, and Linnaeus had to make a sharp exit from the city.”
• Тентакуларно мишљење Доне Харавеј и фунгално мишљење Ане Ловенхопт Цинг. Кад потоња прича о “екологијама заснованим на реметилаштву где многе врсте понекад живе заједно без хармоније или комфора”, мисли се на аменсализам, паразитизам и компетицију. Шта друго очекивати од антрополошкиње кад коментарише биотичке односе, осим непрецизности?
• 1894. Чарлс Ричет ектоплазмом назива слуз коју медијуми наводно излучују.
• Онтогенија није рекапитулација филогеније!
• Хомосексуална паника Ив Косовски Сеџвик.
🎵 Bound – Haunts
Пази шта желиш, можда ти се оствари. Тачно! Моја жеља да се разбољевам како бих одсуствовао са посла ми се испунила по пети пут од септембра. Ово боловање закључујем са неколико околних смрти и једном самрћу. Danse macabre уз screamo стихове “Breathe easy / The doctors are about to arrive / What a passive thought when the truth is that I've taken your life” комеша се са јапанским visual kei напевима и shoegaze/goth призивачима духова. Иако ово делује као трагикомични пастиш, Франкенштајнов отпадак, у ствари је злослутни и метаморфни асамблаж, баш каква је и сама готика – вечито у покрету: флуидна, змијугава, односна, односећа, одвећ променљива… Луталаштво, трансгресивност, психогеографија, назначиће Лакхарст, као и наскоци вучјих паукова из напрслих механизама одбране, у стравичној мрежи живота – откровење огледалника, двојника-понорника.
Заиста, готово свакодневни сусрети са руинираним здањем у кораку препуном осећаја апсурда и једа домино-готичара који презире плезир и шегртанлук, гмизање уз туђу длаку и замисао, стварају додатни отпор и гађење од дубоко политизованог озрачја; оно урличе декаденцију једног балканског проклетства, тлачитељског самолижућег таворништва, мрак једне човечије рибице која са ружичастих облака жвали своје стадо… Такве индустријске развалине су rivethead или cybergoth, али не и gothic; то је сензибилитет приказане предметности у спотовима Deeper Into You (Ludovico Technique) или No Way Out (Not Enough Space), а не (квази)антикварна руина коју Вордсворт посматра једним око, док другим жмури на оближњу фабрику, цензуришући екоцидно, да би сањарио питорескно и грандиозно-зазорно, сублимно. Готика је управо то скривено-откривено, али не порнографски обнажено, већ севнуто кроз маглу.
Готика су и варварски, дрско зашиљени лукови, вртоглави преломи кроз п(а)учину витража, као и покисли љуспасти гаргојли; то су хировите куће, макар “две квир” (Стробери Хил и Фонтхил Еби), прожимање култура и крви, факата и фикције, фрагмената и целине, путоказа и лавиринта, исценираног и стварног, божанског и дијаболичног, урбаног и руралног, рационалног и ирационалног, арктичког и антарктичког, српско-вампирског и египатско-мумијског, Рагнарока и гротла Осоре, чуда и чудовишта, хибридизације, химеризма, тератологије и териантропије… Екоготика руши утопијске, освајачке и романтичарске митове о наводно девичанској дивљини коју треба дефлорисати, питајући – зашто баш њу?! Трансготика понире у поноре дисфорије и разодева родно фиксирану у разнородну природу. Ботаничка готика или биљни хорор поред осветничког наратива проблематизује и размаштава агенсност. Прошлост и садашњост, сан и јава, хибридизују у нешто фолклорескно, искачуће-киберпросторно (creepypasta) или чудно интерспецијски-пермеабилно (weirdos & queerdos). “Готика уземљена у мрачне екологије места које се опиру уопштавању и уједначавању савременог урбаног простора,” готика рубних области (edgelands), очуђења, панк крајолика, природокултурних титраја на ивици истребљења, вастације ефемерног и минорног битка под механичком клопком индиферентног свемира…
「この目が染め上がっていく 君は何を見つめている？」
Sidenotes
• 80-их год. ХIX в. Џон Лабок је испитивао мраве у лавиринтима, а 1901. је Вилијем Смол први учинио исто са пацовима.
• Спиритуализам је почео као превара сестара Фокс 1848. год.
• 2016. физичари честица на Антарктику добијају податке који делију као аномалија – Кунова револуција на помолу?
• Ghost Danse Movement – амерички домороци који су се уздали у помоћ натприродних сила беху масакрирани од стране белаца.
• У филму Cat People жена-мачка је Српскиња Ирена. Претходни помен Срба у књизи тиче се, наравно, вампирске панике и Дракуле, што у контемплацији наше крваве историје изналази термин Балканске готике (Весна Голдсворти).
• “In 1735, Linnaeus actually travelled to Hamburg to inspect the 'seven-headed hydra', a famous Church relic then held in the collection of the Burgomeister of the town, and pronounced it a fake, the seven heads made of the jaws and claws of weasels glued onto snake skins. He suggested that the monks had fashioned it to match the description of the seven-headed beast of the Book of Revelation. His public pronouncement and challenge to religious authority over the artefact was deeply unpopular, and Linnaeus had to make a sharp exit from the city.”
• Тентакуларно мишљење Доне Харавеј и фунгално мишљење Ане Ловенхопт Цинг. Кад потоња прича о “екологијама заснованим на реметилаштву где многе врсте понекад живе заједно без хармоније или комфора”, мисли се на аменсализам, паразитизам и компетицију. Шта друго очекивати од антрополошкиње кад коментарише биотичке односе, осим непрецизности?
• 1894. Чарлс Ричет ектоплазмом назива слуз коју медијуми наводно излучују.
• Онтогенија није рекапитулација филогеније!
• Хомосексуална паника Ив Косовски Сеџвик.
🎵 Bound – Haunts
March 9, 2022
Beautiful illustrations, a collection that is extremely up-to-date and highly inclusive of a plethora of Gothic influences, styles and creations. Still, the author/editor does not often express his or her opinion, but rather is content to simply describe the Gothic aspect in detail and array some pictures for the reader. This lack of subjectivity is a minor, but recognizable omission in an otherwise lovely book.
September 12, 2025
A fantastic book on all things Gothic.
Roger Luckhurst does an amazing job delving into Gothic, from literature to architecture to film and everything in between. There are high quality colour photographs on most pages to accompany the text which make for a brilliant visual representation of what's covered in the writing.
I was completely absorbed and entertained whilst reading this one and spent ages going through the recommended reading list at the end; I love when a book you've loved reading suggests more fantastic nuggets.
5 star fare.
Roger Luckhurst does an amazing job delving into Gothic, from literature to architecture to film and everything in between. There are high quality colour photographs on most pages to accompany the text which make for a brilliant visual representation of what's covered in the writing.
I was completely absorbed and entertained whilst reading this one and spent ages going through the recommended reading list at the end; I love when a book you've loved reading suggests more fantastic nuggets.
5 star fare.
November 21, 2021
“El bosque se cierra y se vuelve a cerrar”.
Este es un libro ideal para todos aquellos que siempre andan buscando tanto en cine, como en literatura, como en otras formas de arte, cualquier evocación gótica, pero realmente ¿cómo podríamos definir lo que en la cultura popular calificamos como gótico?? Roger Luckhurst se encarga de abordar y organizar el concepto de Gótico a través de una historia visual, ilustrada, conectando imagen con texto, ensayos.
Luckhurst construye divide este libro en cuatro secciones (Arquitectura y Forma, Organización del territorio, la Brújula Gótica y Monstruos). Cada una de las secciones está ademas conformada por cinco textos o ensayos que ensambla texto e imagen, conectando las referencias visuales a través de la historia con las referencias literarias. Es interesante comprobar que quizá esta estructura temática en vez de por orden del tiempo puede conectar más con el lector ya que va ensamblando elementos de nuestra cultura de ahora con la de los orígenes del gótico.
Luckhurst repasa desde un principio los elementos de la arquitectura gótica y la conecta con elementos visuales del cine, por ejemplo los techos abovedados de la catedral de Notre Dame con Dune de David Lynch, o los Cuadernos venecianos de Ruskin con alguna captura del videojuego Dark Souls III, y asi durante todo este viaje ilustrado, visual, hasta llegar al final de la esencia de lo que significa lo gótico en nuestra cultura del s.XXI, perfectamente integrada.
El miedo a lo desconocido, las pasiones reprimidas a través de los tiempos es quizá la esencia del gótico y Roger Luckhurst se ocupa de deconstruir sus elementos, separar las piezas para que podamos ir encajando el concepto sin problema. Al final de libro hay tres índices exhaustivos de Lecturas Recomendadas, Imágenes y finalmente el Índice General. Un disfrute. Un libro para recrearse y volver a él una y otra vez. Una joyita.
“Si quieres ver el conjunto tendrás que reconstruirme tú mismo, afirma ella."
https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2021...
Este es un libro ideal para todos aquellos que siempre andan buscando tanto en cine, como en literatura, como en otras formas de arte, cualquier evocación gótica, pero realmente ¿cómo podríamos definir lo que en la cultura popular calificamos como gótico?? Roger Luckhurst se encarga de abordar y organizar el concepto de Gótico a través de una historia visual, ilustrada, conectando imagen con texto, ensayos.
Luckhurst construye divide este libro en cuatro secciones (Arquitectura y Forma, Organización del territorio, la Brújula Gótica y Monstruos). Cada una de las secciones está ademas conformada por cinco textos o ensayos que ensambla texto e imagen, conectando las referencias visuales a través de la historia con las referencias literarias. Es interesante comprobar que quizá esta estructura temática en vez de por orden del tiempo puede conectar más con el lector ya que va ensamblando elementos de nuestra cultura de ahora con la de los orígenes del gótico.
Luckhurst repasa desde un principio los elementos de la arquitectura gótica y la conecta con elementos visuales del cine, por ejemplo los techos abovedados de la catedral de Notre Dame con Dune de David Lynch, o los Cuadernos venecianos de Ruskin con alguna captura del videojuego Dark Souls III, y asi durante todo este viaje ilustrado, visual, hasta llegar al final de la esencia de lo que significa lo gótico en nuestra cultura del s.XXI, perfectamente integrada.
El miedo a lo desconocido, las pasiones reprimidas a través de los tiempos es quizá la esencia del gótico y Roger Luckhurst se ocupa de deconstruir sus elementos, separar las piezas para que podamos ir encajando el concepto sin problema. Al final de libro hay tres índices exhaustivos de Lecturas Recomendadas, Imágenes y finalmente el Índice General. Un disfrute. Un libro para recrearse y volver a él una y otra vez. Una joyita.
“Si quieres ver el conjunto tendrás que reconstruirme tú mismo, afirma ella."
https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2021...
July 22, 2022
"[The forest wilderness] offends the eye by being so vast and ungovernable; it offends morality by being so unproductive; and it can be used interchangeably with 'wasteland', territory that is useless and unused."
With the twisting and turnings of all the ways gothic has transformed, from French architecture to tendrils and ghosts, Luckhurst has created a beautifully enchanting compendium filled with photographs, historical documents, and commentary across a variety of topics and cultures. Using examples such as Notre Dame, Bong Joon-ho's films, and Stephen King's novels, he weaves a history of the gothic to make it both accessible to new readers and appreciators of this genre and to those of us whose gothic sensibilities are tried and true.
Perfect for any bookshelf, perhaps pleasantly on display next to a piece of Tomb of Achlys taxidermy and your wisdom teeth.
With the twisting and turnings of all the ways gothic has transformed, from French architecture to tendrils and ghosts, Luckhurst has created a beautifully enchanting compendium filled with photographs, historical documents, and commentary across a variety of topics and cultures. Using examples such as Notre Dame, Bong Joon-ho's films, and Stephen King's novels, he weaves a history of the gothic to make it both accessible to new readers and appreciators of this genre and to those of us whose gothic sensibilities are tried and true.
Perfect for any bookshelf, perhaps pleasantly on display next to a piece of Tomb of Achlys taxidermy and your wisdom teeth.
April 3, 2022
"Gothic plots often revolve around ideas of transgression, the breaching of boundaries of life and death, good taste and bad, knowledge and belief, and this restless transformation makes it a privileged place for many to explore the foundational questions of self and other."
An impressive, in-depth survey of something that is less a genre, more a global phenomenon that humans have used to contend with various elements of the Other for hundreds of years. Luckhurst's deep dive into the Gothic playground begins with essays on geopolitics and architecture, travels across landscapes and all directions of the compass, and ends with a nod to monsters--the final of which is, of course, ourselves. The images were stunning (a personal favorite is a still from the 2002 film Bubba Ho-Tep, included below) and I appreciated the diversity of mediums referenced throughout. The Gothic persists today, particularly in TV, cinema, and literature, existing anywhere and everywhere for those of us who dare to look.
An impressive, in-depth survey of something that is less a genre, more a global phenomenon that humans have used to contend with various elements of the Other for hundreds of years. Luckhurst's deep dive into the Gothic playground begins with essays on geopolitics and architecture, travels across landscapes and all directions of the compass, and ends with a nod to monsters--the final of which is, of course, ourselves. The images were stunning (a personal favorite is a still from the 2002 film Bubba Ho-Tep, included below) and I appreciated the diversity of mediums referenced throughout. The Gothic persists today, particularly in TV, cinema, and literature, existing anywhere and everywhere for those of us who dare to look.
December 26, 2021
Roger Luckhurst is a brilliant writer on speculative fiction (Science Fiction: A Literary History is my favourite book) so I was really looking forward to this, and was not disappointed. This isn't something full of immense detail, but rather a guide with contextual history of all the key Gothic themes. It might not be essential for anyone steeped in Gothic academia then, but is very good for anyone interested in the genre - whether academic or not. It's a really fun, fascinating tour through the Gothic.
September 1, 2022
It would be more accurate to say I liked parts of this book. The author’s definition of what constitutes “Gothic” stories and media is remarkably broad, to the pint of rendering some of his inclusions largely meaningless. Serial killers? Sometimes Gothic! Why? Well, there’s not much context since it’s much heavier on movie stills than text. I found disappointing for things I wanted to learn more about as well as for those I disagreed with. Very much of a mixed bag. But interesting photos, if again pretty random in the way the theme is interpreted.
March 2, 2023
This was an amazing book for any lover of all things gothic/horror.
April 12, 2024
Maravilla absoluta.
May 11, 2022
Título: Gótico. Historia ilustrada.
Autor: Roger Luckhurst
Editorial: Blume
Puntuación: 5⭐
Saludos ávidos leyentes ☕
Me ha gustado tanto el libro que me he venido arriba y he sacado la cámara y los flashes para hacer unas fotos un poco más diferentes 📸
Gótico es un libro de teoría arte del género gótico, que nos ayudará a relacionar y conceptualizar asociaciones interdisciplinares al género. Atravesaremos conceptos de lo extraño, lo oscuro, lo embrujado, lo melancólico, los monstruos, lo folclórico, etc. todo desde la perspectiva de este género artístico en disciplinas como la literatura, la arquitectura, el cine, las series, el arte y los videojuegos .
El libro nos comienza hablando del gótico como un género transmedio: que se desarrolla a través de múltiples medios y canales en los cuales los propios consumidores expansionan y readaptan el género a las nuevas narrativas. Por tanto, nos presenta el género como un “conjunto de elementos ambulantes, que bien podrían originarse en un estrecho conjunto de culturas europeas, pero que luego se embarca en un viaje en el que se transmite el gótico y que además, se transforma por completo mientras transita diferentes culturas”. Estos elementos ambulantes transitan, cambian y se transforman en el camino y nos dejan múltiples ejemplos de sus manifestaciones en a lo largo del tiempo y de la geografía.
El libro está dividido en diferentes secciones que explican los elementos del gótico que el autor ha decidido argumentarnos y desarrollarnos para defender su tesis. Elementos como arquitectura y forma, organización del territorio, brújula y monstruos. (Dejo fotografía del índice) Nos divide estos elementos, nos los argumenta desde el origen y luego nos referencia una selección de obras relacionadas hasta la actualidad.
He disfrutado muchísimo del libro. Solo había realizado lecturas en relación con la arquitectura y artes plásticas. Me ha encantado aproximarme a esta visión global y esta transmisión de conceptos a lo largo del tiempo y la geografía. Disfruto mucho esta clase de libros teóricos relacionales en los que no nos muestran un contenido histórico y ya, si no que nos presentan relaciones. Las referencias bibliográficas y audiovisuales aportadas, me han parecido muy interesantes y mi lista de pendientes se ha incrementado mucho. Me encantan las lecturas que te llevan a otras lecturas y que te hacen disfrutar más de ellas aportando conocimiento.
Autor: Roger Luckhurst
Editorial: Blume
Puntuación: 5⭐
Saludos ávidos leyentes ☕
Me ha gustado tanto el libro que me he venido arriba y he sacado la cámara y los flashes para hacer unas fotos un poco más diferentes 📸
Gótico es un libro de teoría arte del género gótico, que nos ayudará a relacionar y conceptualizar asociaciones interdisciplinares al género. Atravesaremos conceptos de lo extraño, lo oscuro, lo embrujado, lo melancólico, los monstruos, lo folclórico, etc. todo desde la perspectiva de este género artístico en disciplinas como la literatura, la arquitectura, el cine, las series, el arte y los videojuegos .
El libro nos comienza hablando del gótico como un género transmedio: que se desarrolla a través de múltiples medios y canales en los cuales los propios consumidores expansionan y readaptan el género a las nuevas narrativas. Por tanto, nos presenta el género como un “conjunto de elementos ambulantes, que bien podrían originarse en un estrecho conjunto de culturas europeas, pero que luego se embarca en un viaje en el que se transmite el gótico y que además, se transforma por completo mientras transita diferentes culturas”. Estos elementos ambulantes transitan, cambian y se transforman en el camino y nos dejan múltiples ejemplos de sus manifestaciones en a lo largo del tiempo y de la geografía.
El libro está dividido en diferentes secciones que explican los elementos del gótico que el autor ha decidido argumentarnos y desarrollarnos para defender su tesis. Elementos como arquitectura y forma, organización del territorio, brújula y monstruos. (Dejo fotografía del índice) Nos divide estos elementos, nos los argumenta desde el origen y luego nos referencia una selección de obras relacionadas hasta la actualidad.
He disfrutado muchísimo del libro. Solo había realizado lecturas en relación con la arquitectura y artes plásticas. Me ha encantado aproximarme a esta visión global y esta transmisión de conceptos a lo largo del tiempo y la geografía. Disfruto mucho esta clase de libros teóricos relacionales en los que no nos muestran un contenido histórico y ya, si no que nos presentan relaciones. Las referencias bibliográficas y audiovisuales aportadas, me han parecido muy interesantes y mi lista de pendientes se ha incrementado mucho. Me encantan las lecturas que te llevan a otras lecturas y que te hacen disfrutar más de ellas aportando conocimiento.
October 1, 2024
Division into twenty thematic chapters nicely avoids any commitment to the 'history' half of the title, probably a real boon to the author or authors given how ahistorical or anhistoric the endlessly and tediously mutable concept of 'Gothic' has been taken to be for the past few decades. I say 'author or authors' because while Luckhurst is the only one credited it has a real ring of collaborative redundancy to it; it feels as if he emailed a half-dozen informants who worked on things outside his own competencies to jazz it up with stuff on more recent media (comics, foreign-language 21st-century film, computer games) and then wrote up these notes with a series of mistakes that betray a lack of genuine interest or knowledge: he seems to think Logan from the X-Men is literally a werewolf, for example.
Baffling clause: "In parallel [with Japanese horror coming to influence Anglophone horror], Japanese computer game design has led in the development of video games, which shifted from science fiction scenarios to 'survival horror'"; one gets the feeling someone has explained what 'survival horror' is and he hasn't really gotten the idea; earlier in the book he tells you Resident Evil is the first one while earlier on the same page Alone in the Dark appears as belonging to the same genre as Doom. Inevitably the one non-mainstream computer game mentioned is Passage.
One imagines the claims about Ruskin, say, or Machen, are less beset by schoolboy errors. The problem is even when there's nothing so straightforwardly wrong the writing is just a series of one-assertion statements of what a work does--
--that never get so far as doing meaningful criticism, let alone history. As for the Illustrated part, the page I quote from just above sets Donnie and the rabbit in the cinema next to a fairly random shot from a late season of Buffy and a still from the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers that comes up on the first page of Google image search results for it.
Baffling clause: "In parallel [with Japanese horror coming to influence Anglophone horror], Japanese computer game design has led in the development of video games, which shifted from science fiction scenarios to 'survival horror'"; one gets the feeling someone has explained what 'survival horror' is and he hasn't really gotten the idea; earlier in the book he tells you Resident Evil is the first one while earlier on the same page Alone in the Dark appears as belonging to the same genre as Doom. Inevitably the one non-mainstream computer game mentioned is Passage.
One imagines the claims about Ruskin, say, or Machen, are less beset by schoolboy errors. The problem is even when there's nothing so straightforwardly wrong the writing is just a series of one-assertion statements of what a work does--
... the Gothic is open to gentler, more insidious moods of suburban unease. Don DeLillo offered a strangely ecstatic embrace of apocalyptic dread in his suburban comedy White Noise (1984). In A. M. Homes's Music for Torching (1999), a bored couple with the ideal life break ranks, smoke crack, and set fire to their lovely suburban house. An ineffable sadness settles over the doom-laden anti-hero of Richard Kelly's film Donnie Darko ...
--that never get so far as doing meaningful criticism, let alone history. As for the Illustrated part, the page I quote from just above sets Donnie and the rabbit in the cinema next to a fairly random shot from a late season of Buffy and a still from the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers that comes up on the first page of Google image search results for it.
January 2, 2022
What is better than a book about the history of Gothic? An illustrated book about the history of Gothic that’s what.
This mighty tome is an aesthetic masterpiece, it encompasses all (and I mean all, there is even a section on fungus represented in the Gothic, and I for one didn’t even realise that was a thing) aspects of the Gothic genre, from the typical Gothic fog hiding a ruinous castle on a mountain with a helpless maiden chained in the basement, right up to the trans communities’ identification with Frankenstein’s Monster. Gothic is indeed a beast with its tentacles/claws/well-manicured vampire hands in all the worlds pies.
The sheer amount of research Mr. Luckhurst has done to complete this book blows my mind 🤯. He has followed and traced the Gothic in it’s every aspect, and it is all accompanied by some amazing illustrations. There are pictures of things in here I would have never even considered as Gothic, but when you stop to think about it, there is not much that the Gothic genre cannot assimilate into itself, the world is a dark place and us humans enjoy being enveloped in the dark side of life. Or maybe that is just me.
The sheer amount of information herein is a bit intimidating, and definitely makes another read highly recommended, I think for my second deep dive I will be taking notes, probably with a quill on human skin, just to keep up with that Gothic aesthetic.
This book is a must for the creepy weirdo in your life that is enraptured by anything considered even vaguely Gothic, as not only will it delight and entertain their dead black hearts, it will also look lovely on their bookshelf to.
Brava!
This mighty tome is an aesthetic masterpiece, it encompasses all (and I mean all, there is even a section on fungus represented in the Gothic, and I for one didn’t even realise that was a thing) aspects of the Gothic genre, from the typical Gothic fog hiding a ruinous castle on a mountain with a helpless maiden chained in the basement, right up to the trans communities’ identification with Frankenstein’s Monster. Gothic is indeed a beast with its tentacles/claws/well-manicured vampire hands in all the worlds pies.
The sheer amount of research Mr. Luckhurst has done to complete this book blows my mind 🤯. He has followed and traced the Gothic in it’s every aspect, and it is all accompanied by some amazing illustrations. There are pictures of things in here I would have never even considered as Gothic, but when you stop to think about it, there is not much that the Gothic genre cannot assimilate into itself, the world is a dark place and us humans enjoy being enveloped in the dark side of life. Or maybe that is just me.
The sheer amount of information herein is a bit intimidating, and definitely makes another read highly recommended, I think for my second deep dive I will be taking notes, probably with a quill on human skin, just to keep up with that Gothic aesthetic.
This book is a must for the creepy weirdo in your life that is enraptured by anything considered even vaguely Gothic, as not only will it delight and entertain their dead black hearts, it will also look lovely on their bookshelf to.
Brava!
November 3, 2025
Super fascinating catalogue of gothic history ! Looking through all of the iconography and how they can combine to cause quiet horror was useful and also helped solidify my belief in the gothic as a genre made up of protest and subversion and cultural norms. It seems like anything “gothic” is just something that threatens prototypical nuclear life; I feel like gothic art and architecture really shines in its contradictions and juxtapositions, and in forcing people to look outside of their experience
January 14, 2025
Magnífic assaig que abasta tota la sèrie de temàtiques relacionades amb el gènere gòtic, començant des del seu origen arquitectònic fins als seus monstres més icònics. Cal destacar la magnífica edició amb imatges i il·lustracions, que fan que sigui una experiència visual més completa.
September 4, 2022
An excellent comprehensive history. Light enough to read without being overwhelmed, but also thoroughly researched.
February 28, 2022
Un ensayo completísimo y muy bien documentado sobre el caleidoscópico y elusivo gótico. Dividiendo el libro en distintos ensayos (laberintos, monstruos, arquitectura, etc) y con muchísimas imágenes (que oh maravilla! no son las clásicas que ponen siempre en toooodos los libros sobre el tema) se integran elementos del pasado y futuro que configuran lo que podemos llamar gótico hoy (hay referencias al folk horror y a videojuegos). A cualquier interesado en el tema (sepa poco o mucho) le servirá de libro de consulta (tiene una bibliografía buenísima). Hay que tenerlo en papel sí o sí.
Acá se puede ver parte del interior del libro: https://blume.net/arte/2101-gotico-97...
Acá se puede ver parte del interior del libro: https://blume.net/arte/2101-gotico-97...
July 10, 2024
An absolutely perfect introduction to all things gothic. Plus, it has pictures! This book goes through all manner of goth things, from architecture to the land itself to, of course, monsters. I honestly learned so much about the gothic, where it comes from, and what constitutes gothic (spoiler: way more horror than you think). I'm a visual person, so the pictural references really helped put things into perspective, and the writing style was straightforward and to the point. It'll look amazing on your coffee table, and you'll actually get knowledge out of it too!
February 8, 2025
A super delightful book. It feels like a course on the Gothic movement from a professor you wish you had in school. From the roots in architecture, art, and literature to modern day, Luckhurst is clearly a fan of all things Gothic. I appreciate the way he takes examples of video games and internet culture as seriously as he does with books and movies; showing how cultural anxieties reflect in the art and content that is produced no matter the medium. Loved it, looking forward to coming back to it again, an dagain.
February 1, 2022
Terrific examination of the gothic movement and sensibilities. Beautifully bound and heavily illustrated it's a joy to read. The author has an inclusive view of manifestations of gothic art ranging from Mary Shelley to Bubba Ho Tep all described in a deliciously academic tone.
April 20, 2022
Sumptuous and glossy guide to all things gothic, except the music and clothes. Very progressive, exhaustive, and up to date, with references to Covid and films like Midsommar and Us. I came away with a list of films, books, and places to try, or in the case of HP Lovecraft, to reread.
January 3, 2022
Brilliant writing and research, as with all Luckhurst's works!
Also a startling visual tour of provocations as much as illustrations.
Also a startling visual tour of provocations as much as illustrations.
July 30, 2023
Such a beautifully dark, macabre, and romantic art book. It has everything I am obsessed with encapsulated inside.
January 1, 2024
I took 19 pages of notes and have so many new things to read/watch
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews