Editors:
- Explores the Southern Gothic, under the categories of Poe and his Legacy; Space and Place; Race; Gender and Sexuality; and Monsters and Voodoo
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Table of contents (36 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Space and Place in Southern Gothic
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Front Matter
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About this book
The essays examine slavery and the laws that supported it, and stories of slaves who rebelled and those who escaped. Also present are the often-neglected issues of the Native American presence in the South, socioeconomic class, the distinctions among the several regions of the South, same-sex relationships, and norms of gendered behaviour. This handbook covers not only iconic figures of Southern literature but also other less well-known writers, and examines gothic imageryin film and in contemporary television programmes such as True Blood and True Detective.
Reviews
“This is … an invaluable collection of essays covering an ample range of topics, from the origins to the legacies of Southern Gothic. As such, the volume is a ‘must’ for current and future specialists in Southern Gothic, a field that still has enormous scope for further exploration.” (Federico Boni, revenantjournal.com, Issue 6, 2021)
“The Southern Gothic represents, truly, the dark side of a dark genre. Though ostensibly defined by regional geography, its implications arguably haunt the genre permeating national boundaries, temporal distinctions and those representative divisions associated with the many media through which Gothic has historically expressed its unease. This authoritative and comprehensive collection surveys the breadth of Southern Gothic authors, from the paradigmatic Poe to the iconoclastic McCarthy, through the short story and novel to stage, cinema and television, taking in those unique and historical landmarks – slavery, voodoo, degeneration – that Southern Gothic has redefined and revitalised for a new century. The editors have brought together a work of distinction: the Palgrave Handbook of the Southern Gothic will be an essential tool not merely for scholars of American writing, but also for any critic engaged in the serious study of this important literary tradition.” (William Hughes, Bath Spa University, UK)
“Darkness in the Sunshine State, tropical chills, hell on high water, haunted plantations and sinister swamps all come together in this exciting new collection to offer readers insights into a Gothic sense of place in the American South. Covering analyses of a range of diverse authors (such as Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Chesnutt, Tennessee Williams and Eudora Welty) and subjects (such as New Orleans vampires, Caribbean Voodoo, slave revolts and racial passing), this book is vital reading for students and scholars of Gothic literature and culture.” (Justin Edwards, University of Surrey, UK)
“The Palgrave Handbook of the Southern Gothic will prove absolutely indispensible to anyone with a scholarly, teaching, or readerly interest in the subject area. The essays featured here cover an impressive and truly representative range of individual authors, topics, and themes, and combine to provide a truly panoramic (and up-to-date) survey of the Southern Gothic in its many manifestations.” (Bernice Murphy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)
“Given its wide range of focal points and the insightful excellence – even eloquence – of its 36 essays, this is now the “go-to” volume to start guiding students, their instructors, and other interested readers into the astonishing variety and haunting complexity of the American “Southern Gothic” in literature, film, and television.” (Jerrold E. Hogle, University of Arizona, USA)
“The range of this book, in terms of history and geography, issues of gender and race, and the various forms of monstrosity is truly extraordinary, and the authors demonstrate, with objectivity and yet also with political acumen, how Gothic has figured as a form of representation across all the contested issues with which the South has had to deal. A work of deep and challenging scholarship, which will enlighten scholars of the Gothic and scholars of American history alike.” (David Punter, University of Bristol, UK)
Editors and Affiliations
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Harriet Beecher Stowe Professor Emerita Department of English Language and Literature, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
Susan Castillo Street
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Professor Emeritus of English, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA
Charles L. Crow
About the editors
Charles L. Crow is Professor Emeritus of English at Bowling Green State University, USA. His publications include A Companion to the Regional Literatures of America (2003), American Gothic (2009), American Gothic: An Anthology From Salem Witchcraft to H. P. Lovecraft (2012), and A Companion to American Gothic (2013).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Palgrave Handbook of the Southern Gothic
Editors: Susan Castillo Street, Charles L. Crow
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47774-3
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-69333-7Published: 14 November 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-47774-3Published: 26 July 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVI, 505
Topics: North American Literature, Fiction, American Cinema and TV, Contemporary Literature, Twentieth-Century Literature, Cultural History