Gothic Literature

Catalog description

In tracing the origin and progress of this genre we shall study works by several celebrated writers of gothic fiction, among them Horace Walpole, William Beckford, Matthew Lewis, Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, Joseph Sheriden Le Fanu, Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson, and supplement our literary engagement with a look at some outstanding examples of the gothic in American cinema. To put it all in perspective we will read Fred Botting's informative little book, Gothic, side by side with the novels, romances, and movies that are included in this course. Counts as pre- or post-1800.