The shape of fear : horror and the fin de siècle culture of decadence

Resource Information

The work The shape of fear : horror and the fin de siècle culture of decadence represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The shape of fear : horror and the fin de siècle culture of decadence

Title remainder

horror and the fin de siècle culture of decadence

Statement of responsibility

Susan J. Navarette

Creator

• Navarette, Susan J., 1960-

Subject

• Criticism, interpretation, etc
• Decadence (Literary movement) -- England
• Degeneration in literature
• English fiction -- 19th century -- History and criticism
• Fear in literature
• History
• Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
• Human body in literature
• James, Henry, 1843-1916
• Literature and science -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century
• Horror tales, English -- History and criticism

Genre

• History
• Criticism, interpretation, etc

Language

eng

Summary

"Susan J. Navarette examines the ways in which scientific and cultural concerns of late nineteenth-century England are coded in the horror literature of the period. By contextualizing the structural, stylistic, and thematic systems developed by writers seeking to reenact textually the entropic forces they perceived in the natural world, Navarette reconstructs the late Victorian mentalite. She analyzes aesthetic responses to trends in contemporary science and explores horror writers' use of scientific methodologies to support their perception that a long-awaited period of cultural decline had begun." "In her analysis of the classics Turn of the Screw and Heart of Darkness, Navarette shows how James and Conrad made artistic use of earlier "scientific" readings of the body. She also considers works by lesser-known authors Walter de la Mare, Vernon Lee, and Arthur Machen, who produced fin de siecle stories that took the form of "hybrid literary monstrosities.""--Jacket

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

823/.087380908

Government publication

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

PR878.T3

LC item number

N38 1998

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography