Thomas Hardy and the Folk Horror Tradition

Rezensionen / Stimmen

This uniquely individual book melds the traditions of folklore, folk horror, the Gothic and surrealism in order to create an enhanced experience, one focused on interiority, for when we reread the novels, short stories and poetry of Thomas Hardy that we know and love. We are presented with witches and conjurors, skimmity rides and phantom coaches alongside Social Darwinism and eugenics and the 'wierding' of Emma Gifford, Hardy's first wife. Such eclectic elements combine with the philosophy of Schopenhauer and Taylor's notion of the Immanent Frame to remind us of how Hardy re-enchants the universe - reconnecting us with 'an experience that modernity disavows.' From The Wickerman to Hookland, the authors seamlessly posit Hardy as progenitor of modern folk horror and its many visual adaptations, lamenting that with one exception, the 1970s television adaption of certain stories from Wessex Tales, the 'eerie' in Hardy's stories is often turned to the 'dreary', favouring the 'heritage' approach at the cost of the sublime and the supernatural. This book aims to redress that balance, and does so exceedingly well. * Tracy Hayes, Independent Scholar and Secretary, The Thomas Hardy Society, UK * This book breaks new and important ground. Pointing to a long and deep British history of folk horror, Thomas Hardy and the Folk Horror Tradition delves into folklore, contemporary texts, and Victorian literature. Uncovering a little examined vein of Hardy's work, this book paves the way for new and exciting explorations of not only Hardy scholarship but also the whole tradition of folk horror. Identifying a 'Hardyan folk horror', the authors focus on his 'dark side', leading to an enticing and reinvigorating conception of Hardy, his landscapes, beliefs, and the eerie folklore of Wessex. By proving that Hardy's folk horror was indeed 'of its age', the authors open up a whole new world for folk horror scholars, Victorianists, and Hardy specialists. * Ruth Heholt, Associate Professor of Dark Economies and Gothic Literature, Falmouth University, UK *