Spectres of Antiquity
Classical Literature and the Gothic, 1740-1830
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:16th Oct '20
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Gothic literature imagines the return of ghosts from the past. But what about the ghosts of the classical past? Spectres of Antiquity is the first full-length study to describe the relationship between Greek and Roman culture and the Gothic novels, poetry, and drama of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Rather than simply representing the opposite of classical aesthetics and ideas, the Gothic emerged from an awareness of the lingering power of antiquity. The Gothic reflects a new and darker vision of the ancient world: no longer inspiring modernity through its examples, antiquity has become a ghost, haunting contemporary minds rather than guiding them. Through readings of works by authors including Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, Charles Brockden Brown, and Mary Shelley, Spectres of Antiquity argues that these authors' plots and ideas preserve the remembered traces of Greece and Rome. James Uden provides evidence for many allusions to ancient texts that have never previously been noted in scholarship, and he offers an accessible guide both to the Gothic genre and to the classical world to which it responds. In fascinating and compelling detail, Spectres of Antiquity rewrites the history of the Gothic, demonstrating that the genre was haunted by a far deeper sense of history than has previously been assumed.
Outstanding.... Historically detailed and compellingly argued.... [I] cannot recommend Spectres of Antiquity highly enough. * Benjamin Eldon Stevens, New England Classical Journal *
Despite offering novel and striking insights, the book is readily accessible to non-specialists ... All in all, the Spectres of Antiquity is a valuable addition to Classical Scholarship, Gothic studies, and those interested in the concept of Reception. * George Prekas, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
In this well-written and well-researched book, Uden (classical studies, Boston Univ.) provides a detailed tableau of allusive references to antiquity in English Gothic literature. * CHOICE *
Spectres of Antiquity will be essential reading to all who are interested in the origins of the Gothic or to the history of classical reception in the eighteen and early nineteenth centuries.... Stylishly written and full of fascinating insight, Uden's book provides a vivifying archeology of the origins of the Gothic, illuminating the classical presences therein. * Eighteenth-Century Studies *
Spectres of Antiquity is a valuable addition to Classical Scholarship, Gothic studies, and those interested in the concept of Reception. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
This is a truly remarkable, paradigm-shifting book, and a wonderful work of scholarship. * Dale Townshend, Manchester Metropolitan University *
Uden's study is a terrific and gripping read from cover to cover. * Brett M. Rogers, University of Puget Sound *
This is an important and valuable scholarly advance. It possesses a high volume of new scholarly insights and connections. No one before Dr. Uden has revealed as many of these allusions to ancient Greek and Roman authors in classic Gothic literature of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in England and America as there actually are, and many of them have never been brought out, to my knowledge, in a scholarly study before this one. A great number of discoveries here are new to modern scholarship. * Jerrold E. Hogle, Professor of English, University of Arizonaà *
- Winner of Winner, The Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit, Society for Classical Studies Shortlisted, Allan Lloyd Memorial Smith Prize, International Gothic Association.
ISBN: 9780190910273
Dimensions: 155mm x 234mm x 28mm
Weight: 544g
284 pages