Eighteenth-Century Fiction and the Reinvention of Wonder
Eighteenth-Century Fiction and the Reinvention of Wonder

Author: Sarah Tindal Kareem

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-10-23

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0191003123

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A footprint materializes mysteriously on a deserted shore; a giant helmet falls from the sky; a traveler awakens to find his horse dangling from a church steeple. Eighteenth-century fiction brims with moments such as these, in which the prosaic rubs up against the marvelous. While it is a truism that the period's literature is distinguished by its realism and air of probability, Eighteenth-Century Fiction and the Reinvention of Wonder argues that wonder is integral to—rather than antithetical to—the developing techniques of novelistic fiction. Positioning its reader on the cusp between recognition and estrangement, between faith and doubt, modern fiction hinges upon wonder. Eighteenth-Century Fiction and the Reinvention of Wonder unfolds its new account of fiction's rise through surprising readings of classic early novels—from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey—and brings to attention lesser-known works, most notably Rudolf Raspe's Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels. In this bold new account, the eighteenth century bears witness not to the world's disenchantment but rather to wonder's relocation from the supernatural realm to the empirical world, providing a reevaluation not only of how we look back at the Enlightenment, but also of how we read today.

Peripheral Fear
Peripheral Fear

Author: Gerry Turcotte

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9789052014883

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This is a pioneering work published here for the first time in its complete form. At a time when Gothic studies still concentrated on traditional European and American Gothic, the author laid the foundations for the exploration of how Gothic conventions were transported and transformed in places remote from Europe. Through a detailed reading of 19th- and 20th-century examples of Canadian and Australian Gothic fiction, this work demonstrates the transformative potential of a once much-maligned mode in what were arguably neglected national literatures.

A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting
A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting

Author: Leo Ruickbie

Publisher: Robinson

Published: 2013-08-15

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1780338279

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There has been an upsurge in books, television programmes, films and websites exploring the reality or otherwise of the spirit world. Not since the founding of The Ghost Club in 1862 and the Society for Psychical Research in 1882 has ghost hunting been so popular. Television and the internet, in particular, have fueled this new level of interest, creating a modern media phenomenon that spans the globe. But while the demand for information is high, good information remains scarce. A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting leads us through the process of ghost hunting, from initially weighing the first report, to choosing equipment, and investigating and identifying the phenomena, with an analysis of the best places to go looking, methods of contacting the spirit world, how to explain paranormal activity and, crucially, how to survive the encounter. However, it is also a book about ghost hunting itself, drawing on 130 years of research in the cavernous archives of the Society for Psychical Research and even older history to find the earliest ghost stories. A Ghost Hunting Survey makes use of interviews with those billing themselves as ghost hunters to find out their views, motivations and experiences. New and original research makes use of statistics to map the nebulous world of apparitions while a Preliminary Survey of Hauntings offers an analysis of 923 reported phenomena from 263 locations across the UK. This is, as far as possible, an objective presentation of ghosts and ghost hunting. It is no wonder that mainstream science largely refuses to deal with the subject: it is too complicated. Without trying to convince you of any viewpoint, this book is intended to help you understand more.

Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders

Author: Daniel Defoe

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 1989-10-03

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 1101199709

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

‘I grew as impudent a Thief, and as dexterous as ever Moll Cut-Purse was’ Born and abandoned in Newgate Prison, Moll Flanders is forced to make her own way in life. She duly embarks on a career that includes husband-hunting, incest, bigamy, prostitution and pick-pocketing, until her crimes eventually catch up with her. One of the earliest and most vivid female narrators in the history of the English novel, Moll recounts her adventures with irresistible wit and candour—and enough guile that the reader is left uncertain whether she is ultimately a redeemed sinner or a successful opportunist. Based on the first edition of 1722, this volume includes a chronology, notes on currency and maps of London and Virginia in the late seventeenth century.