Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Going Gothic

Are you like me and every once in awhile you long to read a book as bleak as you feel? Do you hear mist shrouded moors and dark abandoned castles calling you? I admit that recently I have really felt this and gave full reign to my desires. The more Victorian, the more psychologically manipulative, the more supernatural the better! Gothic literature has been a staple and highly successful genre since Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe set pen to paper in the 1700s. But I'd argue that ghost stories and hauntings and any story told around the fire since time immemorial had that spark that evolved into Gothic literature. But what I really love about Gothic literature is that it's still ongoing, still evolving, with new twists on old tropes and pastiches that rise above the original. Modern sensibilities still lured into tales of monsters and mansions, foreign climes with unpredictable weather, and the chill you get up your back as you feverishly devour the book late into the night. So join me this month in a sampling of Gothic literature, from it's formative years to the present. Also if you want more information on what makes a book Gothic check out this wonderful infographic by Adam Frost and Zhenia Vasiliev.

2 comments:

What a fun theme! Yes, I think Gothic literature is fun!

It also probably makes sense all those books in the fall I put into the book club hat eh?

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home