Provides a scholarly account of the striking interplay between the Gothic and theory over two-and-a-half centuries

This collection provides a thorough representation of the early and ongoing conversation between Gothic and theory – philosophical, aesthetic, psychological and cultural – both in the many modes of Gothic and in many of the realms of theory now current in the modern world. Each essay focuses on a particular kind of theory–Gothic relationship, every one of which has a history and each of which is still being explored in enactments of the Gothic and of theory today.

Key Features

Provides the first detailed discussion of the interrelationship between literary theory and the Gothic from the inception of the Gothic to the present dayEnables students to connect what otherwise seem a wide variety of diverse phenomena, from the rise of philosophical ‘emotivism’ to poetic tales of terror and Gothic filmAdvances current scholarly investigation, by invigorating debates within both Gothic studies and literary theory. Makes connections between a wide variety of issues, from eco-crisis and contemporary culture wars to the persistent problem of the ‘other’