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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 14, 2021 11:23:57 GMT
Last night I started The Tale of Terror: A Study of the Gothic Romance by Edith Birkhead. Published in 1920. Here is the opening paragraph:
The aim of this book is to give some account of the growth of supernatural fiction in English literature, beginning with the vogue of the Gothic Romance and Tale of Terror towards the close of the eighteenth century. The origin and development of the Gothic Romance are set forth in detail from the appearance of Walpole's Castle of Otranto in 1764 to the publication of Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer in 1820 ; and the survey of this phase of the novel is continued, in the later chapters, to modern times. One of these is devoted to the Tale of Terror in America, where in the hands of Hawthorne and Poe its treatment became a fine art. In the chapters dealing with the more recent forms of the tale of terror and wonder, the scope of the subject becomes so wide that it is impossible to attempt an exhaustive survey.
I'll list the books and authors mentioned as I read it.
The Gothic Romance was obviously a precursor to modern horror, but at what stage did horror fiction become recognised as a genre in its own right? Edith is using the Tale of Terror as a broader term for this sort of literature by the 1920s.
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Post by helrunar on May 14, 2021 12:39:49 GMT
That's an interesting find, given the early date. I wonder if you've ever had a look at The Gothic Quest by Montague Summers. Also of interest is Summers' anthology The Supernatural Omnibus (there's a thread for it here, but the specifics of how to do the hyperlink thing within this post elude me). I found the anthology a mixed bag, but it did include some worthy entries cheek-by-jowl with material that was at best second- or even third-rate.
H.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 14, 2021 15:35:07 GMT
That's an interesting find, given the early date. I wonder if you've ever had a look at The Gothic Quest by Montague Summers. Also of interest is Summers' anthology The Supernatural Omnibus (there's a thread for it here, but the specifics of how to do the hyperlink thing within this post elude me). I found the anthology a mixed bag, but it did include some worthy entries cheek-by-jowl with material that was at best second- or even third-rate. H. No, I haven't seen it. The name seems familiar. Looking him up I see a lot of interesting titles. I'll try to hunt some down. Thank you!
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Post by Swampirella on May 14, 2021 15:38:48 GMT
That's an interesting find, given the early date. I wonder if you've ever had a look at The Gothic Quest by Montague Summers. Also of interest is Summers' anthology The Supernatural Omnibus (there's a thread for it here, but the specifics of how to do the hyperlink thing within this post elude me). I found the anthology a mixed bag, but it did include some worthy entries cheek-by-jowl with material that was at best second- or even third-rate. H. No, I haven't seen it. The name seems familiar. Looking him up I see a lot of interesting titles. I'll try to hunt some down. Thank you! FYI Vol. 2 can be found at luminist.org.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 14, 2021 15:41:13 GMT
I also found out the author of The Tale of Terror, Edith Birkhead, wrote a book about Christina Rossetti. I read once that Christina wouldn't tread on a piece of paper in case it had the name of God written on it.
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Post by Swampirella on May 14, 2021 15:45:06 GMT
I also found out the author of The Tale of Terror, Edith Birkhead, wrote a book about Christina Rossetti. I read once that Christina wouldn't tread on a piece of paper in case it had the name of God written on it. Reminds me of people under the rule of Mao or Stalin who could get into dire straits by accidentally stepping on their newspaper photos. Or is that a myth?
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 14, 2021 15:54:08 GMT
I also found out the author of The Tale of Terror, Edith Birkhead, wrote a book about Christina Rossetti. I read once that Christina wouldn't tread on a piece of paper in case it had the name of God written on it. Reminds me of people under the rule of Mao or Stalin who could get into dire straits by accidentally stepping on their newspaper photos. Or is that a myth? After Stalin had killed a friend didn't he have them removed from photos too?
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Post by helrunar on May 14, 2021 15:55:52 GMT
Miss Scarlett, perhaps you can find my favorite Monty Summers book, The Galanty Show, on one of your online archives. I wish a reprint of that would happen. Or even the type of electronic edition that would go on my device (which was given to me by a friend--it's proven to be much used, though I still prefer reading actual books).
H.
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Post by helrunar on May 14, 2021 15:57:38 GMT
Princess, Mao had Lin Biao, Liu Shaoqi, and other Party leaders airbrushed out of various photographs after they had fallen from favor. Lin died under mysterious circumstances--a plane crash, I believe--most likely orchestrated by Mao.
H.
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Post by Swampirella on May 14, 2021 15:58:56 GMT
Reminds me of people under the rule of Mao or Stalin who could get into dire straits by accidentally stepping on their newspaper photos. Or is that a myth? After Stalin had killed a friend didn't he have them removed from photos too? I'm pretty sure he did. Not sure therefore which was worse, to be his friend or his enemy.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 14, 2021 16:03:57 GMT
Miss Scarlett, perhaps you can find my favorite Monty Summers book, The Galanty Show, on one of your online archives. I wish a reprint of that would happen. Or even the type of electronic edition that would go on my device (which was given to me by a friend--it's proven to be much used, though I still prefer reading actual books). H. I tried searching for that and I made a typing error on Galanty and it finished Summers as Summerslam. I ended up with: the galantry show montague summerslam. It gave me: FULL MATCH - Kofi Kingston & Mickie James vs. Glamarella: SummerSlam 2008
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on May 14, 2021 16:07:57 GMT
I'm pretty sure that's not a reprint of the same book with a new title.
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Post by Swampirella on May 14, 2021 16:09:31 GMT
Miss Scarlett, perhaps you can find my favorite Monty Summers book, The Galanty Show, on one of your online archives. I wish a reprint of that would happen. Or even the type of electronic edition that would go on my device (which was given to me by a friend--it's proven to be much used, though I still prefer reading actual books). H. I'm flattered you seem to think I have a whole slew of archives to consult! Right now the cheapest is at Abe for US$65 + a small shipping fee. That seems to be a bargain
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Post by helrunar on May 14, 2021 16:42:12 GMT
There's nothing spectacular about The Galanty Show but $65 sounds like a realistic price for a book that long out of print which had a fairly small print run, if memory serves. As opposed to the ridiculous prices for this sort of thing one tends to see nowadays on all these "bookjacking" sites.
One of the odd things about the book that always sticks in my memory is how he mentions queen-cakes in an early passage. I'd never heard of such a thing, but it struck me as exactly the kind of snack one would imagine Montague Summers feasting upon. I was disappointed when I finally found a recipe for queen-cakes somewhere.
H.
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Post by helrunar on May 14, 2021 16:43:28 GMT
And no, Princess, that thing the internet forced you to view certainly is NOT the dainty tome we are discussing.
Modern life really is dreadful at times...
H.
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