Spectral Dickens: The Uncanny Forms of Novelistic Characterization

(Hardback)

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Spectral Dickens posits a spectral dimension of literary character. By analyzing Dickens' illustrated novels through a frame of ontologically-haunted concepts like the Freudian uncanny, Derridean spectrality, and the Lacanian Real, Bove's work haunts the opposition between fictional character and real person with the uncanniness of literary forms. -- .

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'Drawing on graphic traditions of the era, the author describes how Dickens developed objects like dolls and effigies to reinforce meanings beyond the literal. Bove is interested in visual and narrative techniques that move beyond the limits of mimesis.'
CHOICE
(Reprinted with permission from Choice Reviews. All rights reserved. Copyright by the American Library Association.)

Spectral Dickens will be of immense interest to those seeking to understand Dickens's enduring appeal for readers and critics alike, especially those with an interest in psychoanalysis and the literary critical paradigms it can enable.'
The Dickensian

Author Bio

Alexander Bove is Professor of English at Pacific University