Women and the Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion

(Paperback)

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Description

A re-assessment of the Gothic in relation to the female, the 'feminine', feminism and post-feminism
This collection of newly commissioned essays brings together major scholars in the field of Gothic studies in order to re-think the topic of 'Women and the Gothic'. The 14 chapters in this volume engage with debates about 'Female Gothic' from the 1970s and '80s, through second wave feminism, theorisations of gender and a long interrogation of the 'women' category as well as with the problematics of post-feminism, now itself being interrogated by a younger generation of women. The contributors explore Gothic works from established classics to recent films and novels from feminist and post-feminist perspectives. The result is a lively book that combines rigorous close readings with elegant use of theory in order to question some ingrained assumptions about women, the Gothic and identity.
Key Features
Revitalises the long-running debate about women, the Gothic and identityEngages with the political agendas of feminism and post-feminismPrioritises the concerns of woman as reader, author and criticOffers fresh readings of both classic and recent Gothic works

Reviews

Unapologetically feminist and woman-focused, Women and the Gothic is a bold, hip, theoretically sophisticated collection written by new and established scholars, that examines the complex work of the Gothic in relation to cultural representations of women. Covering a breathtakingly broad cross-section of subject matter, cultural forms/media, and historical phenomena, including fourth-wave feminism, Horner and Zlosnik have produced a highly readable, welcome addition to the series. -- University of Windsor * Carol Margaret Davison *
With lively contributions extending the discussion to include ideas around race, queer identity, and age, the book presents timely, crucial, and complex views on women in the gothic. -- Frances A. Kamm * The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies 15 *
With lively contributions extending the discussion to include ideas around race, queer identity, and age, the book presents timely, crucial, and complex views on women in the gothic. -- Frances A. Kamm * The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies 15 *

Author Bio

Avril Horner is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at Kingston University. With Sue Zlosnik she has co-authored many articles and several books, including Daphne du Maurier: Writing, Identity and the Gothic Imagination (1998), Gothic and the Comic Turn (2005) and Women and the Gothic (2016). Other works include Living on Paper: Letters from Iris Murdoch, 1934-1995 (with Anne Rowe, 2015) and Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence (2024). Alone, she has published essays on writers such as Djuna Barnes, Kate Chopin, Iris Murdoch and Carol Ann Duffy. Her biography of Barbara Comyns will be published in 2024. Sue Zlosnik is Emeritus Professor of English at Manchester Metropolitan University and former co-President of the International Gothic Association. With Avril Horner, she has published six books, including Daphne du Maurier: Writing, Identity and the Gothic Imagination (1998), Gothic and the Comic Turn (2005), The Edinburgh Companion to Women and the Gothic (2016) as well as numerous essays and articles. Alone, she has published essays on writers as diverse as J. R. R. Tolkien and Chuck Palahniuk and a monograph, Patrick McGrath (2011). She is co-editor (with Agnes Andeweg) of Gothic Kinship (2013).