Gothic Vision: Three Centuries of Horror, Terror and Fear

Description

"The Gothic Vision" examines a broad range of tales of horror, terror, the uncanny and the supernatural, spanning the late 18th century to the present, and related theoretical approaches to the realm of dark writing. It argues that such narratives are objects for historical analysis, due to their implication in specific ideologies, whilst also focusing on the recurrence over time of themes of physical and psychological disintegration, spectrality and monstrosity. Central to the book's argument is the proposition that fear is a ubiquitous phenomenon, capable of awakening consciousness even as it appears to paralyse it. 4

Dani Cavallaro is a freelance writer specializing in literary studies, critical and cultural theory and the visual arts. Her publications include The Gothic Vision, Critical and Cultural Theory and Cyberpunk and Cyberculture.

"A thorough, well-written overview of Gothic literature from the publication of Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) to the present (Stephen King, Anne Rice, Patrick McGrath)....I would use it as a compulsory text for undergraduates."--Anne Williams, Professor of English, University of Georgia "...a readable, intriguing narrative... Cavallaro deploys a variety of critical theories, on the whole judiciously selecting the approach that seems well suited to the work under discussion."- Robert F. Geary, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Summer 2006, 17.2 -- International Association for the Fantastic Arts