California Gothic: The Dark Side of the Dream

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in California or the Gothic, and an exciting new field of investigation from a foundational figure of American Gothic scholarship. —Agnieszka Soltysik Monnet, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dark secrets, the Uncanny, wrecked illusions: Charles L. Crow shows how such Gothic conventions form a spectral, abiding undertow in California literature from Ambrose Bierce to Thomas Pynchon and Octavia Butler. He explores how recurrently the Golden State has represented not the cutting but the bleeding edge of the American Dream.—Michael Kowalewski, Lloyd McBride Professor of English and Environmental Studies, Carleton College, USA.

California Gothic: The Dark Side of the Dream is an engaging, expansive and exceptionally well-informed volume that convincingly underlines the literary, filmic and cultural significance of California’s fascinating but, until recently, much overlooked, Gothic tradition. It is essential reading for anyone interested in this rapidly growing area of scholarly inquiry.” —Bernice M. Murphy, Associate Professor in Popular Literature, School of English, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

In this elegantly written short history, Professor Crow vividly exposes the darkest undercurrents of well-selected tales and films rooted in California. By choosing the Gothic focal points he has, he has explained works that no other study has treated completely and has linked them to California history in highly revealing ways. —Jerrold E. Hogle, Professor Emeritus of English, University Distinguished Professor, University of Arizona, USA.

California Gothic: The Dark Side of the Dream examines how the Californian desire to lead a fulfilling life is challenged by environmental crisis and worldwide pandemics. This is a detailed history of California and a critically important assessment of its dystopian, Gothic tendencies and place within a wider Gothic America.” —Professor Andrew Smith, University of Sheffield, UK.