Post-Millennial Gothic: Comedy, Romance and the Rise of Happy Gothic

(Paperback)

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Surveying the widespread appropriations of the Gothic in contemporary literature and culture, Post-Millennial Gothic shows contemporary Gothic is often romantic, funny and celebratory. Reading a wide range of popular texts, from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series through Tim Burton's Gothic film adaptations of Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows, to the appearance of Gothic in fashion, advertising and television, Catherine Spooner argues that conventional academic and media accounts of Gothic culture have overlooked this celebratory strain of 'Happy Gothic'. Identifying a shift in subcultural sensibilities following media coverage of the Columbine shootings, Spooner suggests that changing perceptions of Goth subculture have shaped the development of 21st-century Gothic. Reading these contemporary trends back into their sources, Spooner also explores how they serve to highlight previously neglected strands of comedy and romance in earlier Gothic literature.

Reviews

The range of sources that Spooner uses to uncover this strand of Gothic and the work its doing in the twenty-first century is as impressive as the primary texts that she explores throughout the book. * Romantic Circles *
Spooner is especially persuasive in her argument that the rise in the fusion of comedy and Gothic needs not to be viewed as on the fringes of what is quintessentially Gothic, but rather a turn toward a new form of Gothic altogether Spooners writing style, as well as her intriguing references and anecdotes, provides for a very enjoyable and accessible readfor those inside and outside academia. * The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts *
Post-Millennial Gothic is well rounded, accessible and very readable study that arguably succeeds in its mission statement and more. * The Dark Arts Journal *
This book expands our understanding of the Gothic and uses lots of interesting contemporary examples. I think this book would be of interest to not just Gothic scholars, but also those interested in post-millennial and material culture. * Fantastika *
Dont judge a book by its cover, or so the old adage goes; when it comes to Catherine Spooners most recent publication, Post-Millennial Gothic: Comedy, Romance and the Rise of Happy Gothic, though, it is hard not to ... Post-Millennial Gothic is foremost an academic study, but one that is pleasingly free of convoluted jargon, which makes it an enjoyable whistle-stop tour of post-millennial happy Gothic. * Revenant *

Author Bio

Catherine Spooner is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Lancaster University, UK. She is co-editor (with Emma McEvoy) of The Routledge Companion to Gothic (2007) and author of Contemporary Gothic (2006) and Fashioning Gothic Bodies (2004).