Between the Gothic and the Plague
Why we can't have nice things
Published on 25. May 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
528 pages
978-1-950423-38-5 (ISBN)
Description
This volume contains five stories – some short, some long. Each that builds upon the heritage of the other. It starts with The Castle of Ontarato (1764) by Horace Walpole which is considered the first, "Gothic Novel"; Vathek, An Arabian Tale (1782) by William Beckford, was influenced by Walpole and Arabian Nights; The Last Man (1826) by Mary Shelley carries on the theme of the previous works, but could be viewed as one of the first science fiction post-apocalyptic novels; The Masque of the Red Death (1842) by Edgar Allen Poe also focuses on apocalyptic forces and society’s efforts (or lack thereof) to deal with it. Finally, The Scarlet Plague (1912) by Jack London describes a world-wide pandemic that humanity cannot control. Even the cover illustration, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, by Goya is influenced by the Gothic art and forms a sort of double-entendre of monsters made in our mind and by doing nothing.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
NJ
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
848 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-950423-38-5 (9781950423385)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2020
Zmok Books
€10.99
Available for download
Persons
Mary Shelley, born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (1797-1851), was the daughter of philosopher and political writer William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (The Vindication of the Rights of Woman). Mary Shelley had a painful and turbulent life. Her mother died shortly after giving birth. Mary ran away with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a married student of her father's, which resulted in alienation from her family and scandal. The couple traveled throughout Europe and lost their first child in 1815. Then, Mary's half-sister committed suicide, followed shortly thereafter by Percy's wife Harriett. This unfortunate circumstance allowed Percy and Mary to be wed in 1816.
Percy Shelley drowned while sailing in 1822, leaving Mary as a young widow and mother. Mary Shelley is renowned for Frankenstein, but she also wrote additional novels, working to support her son and keeping her husband's legacy alive. She died of brain cancer in 1851.