The Modern Gothic and Literary Doubles Stevenson, Wilde and Wells [Paperback]

The Modern Gothic and Literary Doubles is concerned with Gothic representations of London in the late 19th century. Establishing that a modern Gothic literary mode relocates the traditional rural Gothic to the late 19th century metropolis, this volume explores the cultural history of London in the 19th century. The subsequent discussion of the Gothic fictions of Stevenson, Wilde and Wells offers new perspectives from which to assess the impact of contemporary perceptions of London as a Gothicized space on the works of these novelists.The Modern Gothic and Literary Doubles is concerned with Gothic representations of London in the late 19th century. Establishing that a modern Gothic literary mode relocates the traditional rural Gothic to the late 19th century metropolis, this volume explores the cultural history of London in the 19th century. The subsequent discussion of the Gothic fictions of Stevenson, Wilde and Wells offers new perspectives from which to assess the impact of contemporary perceptions of London as a Gothicized space on the works of these novelists.Acknowledgements * Abbreviations * Foreword by Laurence Davies * Introduction: The Literary Mood of the Fin de Si?cle * The Modern Gothic * The City Real and Imagined * 'City of Dreadful Night': Stevenson's Gothic London * Oscar Wilde: Gothic Ironies and Terrible Dualities * 'The coming terror': Wells's Outcast London and the Modern Gothic * Epilogue: Gothic Futures * Notes * Bibliography * Index

Dryden skillfully unravels the network of cultural, political, scientific and historical forces at work in the Gothic fictions of Stevenson, Wilde and Wells. A significant contribution to literary history. - Roger Luckhurst, Birkbeck College, UK

Linda Dryden is Senior Lecturer, Cultural Studies, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.