Taboo and Transgression in British Literature from the Renaissance to the Present

"Horlacher and his collaborators have re-opened the door on taboo. The collection is ground-breaking in its expansion of traditional definitions and its broad historical sweep. An introductory historical and theoretical section is followed by literary analyses displaying a rich variety of approaches to the disruptive powers of literary texts from early modern to contemporary. Taboo and Transgression is a timely provocation displaying a consistently high quality of critical theory and practice." - Ronald Corthell, Professor and Chair, Department of English, Kent State University

"With its chapters ranging from Renaissance literature to Postmodernism, Taboo and Transgression offers an unprecedented introduction to the topic. A fair balance of theoretical challenge and historical depth, as well as the representativeness of the literary examples - with a focus on highly canonized texts - will make the volume an ideal companion for English courses at university. This conceptually well-wrought, well-structured, and highly coherent volume will appeal to university teachers as well as (advanced) students of English literature and will provide a valuable fundament for further research on taboo/transgression in other media and in less-canonized texts." - Astrid Erll, Professor, University of Wuppertal