The Failure of Gothic: Problems of Disjunction in an Eighteenth-century Literary Form

Napier, Elizabeth R.

ISBN 10: 0198128606 / ISBN 13: 9780198128601

Published by Clarendon Press, 1987

About this Item

Publisher's dark blue cloth-bound hardback; in nearly new condition; tight and square with bright gilt lettering; complete with original dustjacket; neat and sharp, not showing any tears or chips now protected in a clear, removable sleeve. Contents fresh and clean; no pen-marks, save a former owner name at the endpaper. Not from a library so no such stamps or labels. Tidy book in very presentable condition.

Seller Inventory # 086325

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Failure of Gothic: Problems of Disjunction in an Eighteenth-century Literary Form
• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198128606
• ISBN 13: 9780198128601
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Like New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Like New
• Weight: 12 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature, Fiction, Poetry

About this title

Synopsis

The English Gothic novel has recently attracted renewed attention by modern critics who have argued its importance as a mirror of late 18th-century discomfort with the political, psychological, and sexual climate of the times. Elizabeth Napier's work challenges these views, suggesting that the instability of the form may be more successfully addressed through a study of generic structure and its relationship to the designs of the fictional works that preceded it. The first full-length study of narrative conventions in the Gothic, The Failure of Gothic examines the disjunctive form of much Gothic fiction, and its repeated, troubling failure to deal conclusively with both the ethical and the formal issues it raises.

About the Author

Elizabeth R. Napier is at Middlebury College.