Product Description

The first edition was regarded as the definitive survey of Gothic and related terror writing in English. No other text considers this genre on such a scale and covers the theoretical perspectives so comprehensively. In the latest edition, the broad range of theoretical perspectives has been enlarged to include modern critical theories. Volume One is a thoroughly updated edition of the original text, covering the period from 1765 up to the Edwardian age, exploring the richness and literary diversity of the gothic form: from the original eighteenth-century gothic of Ann Radcliffe to the melodramatic fiction of Wilkie Collins.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78554 in Books
• Published on: 1996-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 237 pages

From the Back Cover
The Literature of Terror- the Modern Gothic is the second volume in David Punter's impressive survey of gothic writing covering over two centuries. The text was originally published in 1980 to wide acclaim and following its publication, critical interest in gothic writing has risen substantially. This long awaited second edition has been expanded to take into account the latest critical research, and is now published in two volumes.
Volume One covers the period from 1765 to the Edwardian age while Volume Two discusses modern gothic, starting with the 'decadent' gothic writing of Oscar Wilde and continuing through the twentieth century. David Punter's thorough analysis places gothic writing within its historical and sociological context. A new chapter on post-war fiction and film extends the scope of the original study, exploring the development of a contemporary 'culture of horror' and showing the continuing relevance of the Gothic as a means of expression. This new edition also contains a new chapter which analyses the relationship between cultural material and sociopathic behaviour, offering an important contribution to contemporary sociological debate.
The two volumes combined provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to gothic and related terror writing across the English language as a whole. Both volumes contain detailed bibliographies with assessment of all the significant books published in the area during the last fifteen years. The broad scope of this study enables detailed understanding of this popular genre and will be welcome reading for students of English and American literature and cultural studies.
David Punter is Professor of English Studies at the University of Stirling.