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Gothic Nostalgia: The Uses of Toxic Memory in 21st Century Popular Culture (Palgrave Gothic)
By Simon Bacon, Katarzyna Bronk-Bacon. 2024
This book is an original and innovative study of how Gothic nostalgia and toxic memory are used to underpin and…
promote the ongoing culture wars and populist politics in contemporary popular culture. The essays collected here cover topics from the spectral to the ecological, deep fakes to toxic ableism, Mary Poppins to John Wick to reveal how the use of an imaginary past to shape the present, creates truly Gothic times that we can never escape. These ‘hungry ghosts’ from the past find resonance with the Gothic which speaks equally of a past that often not only haunts the present but will not let it escape its grasp. This collection will look at the confluence between various kinds of toxic nostalgia and popular culture to suggest the ways in which contemporary populism has resurrected ideological monsters from the grave to gorge on the present and any possibility of change that the future might represent.Westminster Part I: The Art, Architecture and Archaeology of the Royal Abbey (The British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions)
By Warwick Rodwell; Tim Tatton-Brown. 2015
The British Archaeological Association’s 2013 conference was devoted to the study of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster. It…
also embraced Westminster School, which was founded at the Reformation in the Abbey precinct. Collectively, these institutions occupy a remarkable assemblage of medieval and later buildings, most of which are well documented. Although the Association had held a conference at Westminster in 1902, this was the first time that the internationally important complex of historic buildings was examined holistically, and the papers published here cover a wide range of subject matter. Westminster came into existence in the later Anglo-Saxon period, and by the mid-11th century, when Edward the Confessor’s great new abbey was built, it was a major royal centre two miles south-west of the City of London. Within a century or so, it had become the principal seat of government in England, and this series of twenty-eight papers covers new research on the topography, buildings, art-history, architecture and archaeology of Westminster’s two great establishments — Abbey and Palace. Part I begins with studies of the topography of the area, an account of its Roman-period finds and an historiographical overview of the archaeology of the Abbey. Edward the Confessor’s enigmatic church plan is discussed and the evidence for later Romanesque structures is assembled for the first time. Five papers examine aspects of Henry III’s vast new Abbey church and its decoration. A further four cover aspects of the later medieval period, coronation, and Sir George Gilbert Scott’s impact as the Abbey’s greatest Surveyor of the Fabric. A pair of papers examines the development of the northern precinct of the Abbey, around St Margaret’s Church, and the remarkable buildings of Westminster School, created within the remains of the monastery in the 17th and 18th centuries. Part II part deals with the Palace of Westminster and its wider topography between the late 11th century and the devastating fire of 1834 that largely destroyed the medieval palace. William Rufus’s enormous hall and its famous roofs are completely reassessed, and comparisons discussed between this structure and the great hall at Caen. Other essays reconsider Henry III’s palace, St Stephen’s chapel, the king’s great chamber (the ‘Painted Chamber’) and the enigmatic Jewel Tower. The final papers examine the meeting places of Parliament and the living accommodation of the MPs who attended it, the topography of the Palace between the Reformation and the fire of 1834, and the building of the New Palace which is better known today as the Houses of Parliament.This book examines how the vampire has always been connected to ideas of infection, pollution and disease—even more so in…
the 21st century where it expresses the horrors of unseen and unstoppable disease and the foreboding and anxiety that accompany viral outbreaks and wider epidemics. Here the vampire gives physical form to the contagion and associated anxieties around the perceived causes and spread of disease, where it can take on many forms from animal to pestilential particulate matter, creeping shadows and even malignant weather systems. If blood is life, it is the body of the vampire that is death. This timely study looks at how and why the vampire continues to fulfil this function and posits that the true patient zero in the 21st century is no longer the dangerous, ancient, outsider from the East but is the undying monster that is Western culture itself.The Politics of Horror
By Damien K. Picariello. 2020
The Politics of Horror features contributions from scholars in a variety of fields—political science, English, communication studies, and others—that explore…
the connections between horror and politics. How might resources drawn from the study of politics inform our readings of, and conversations about, horror? In what ways might horror provide a useful lens through which to consider enduring questions in politics and political thought? And what insights might be drawn from horror as we consider contemporary political issues? In turning to horror, the contributors to this volume offer fresh provocations to inform a broad range of discussions of politics.Hidden passions: secrets from the diaries of Tabitha Lenox
By Alice Alfonsi. 2001
Harmony, New England, harbors a centuries-old witch with a grudge. Tabitha knows all of the inhabitants' secrets--mistresses, illegitimate babies, blackmail,…
and substance abuse. She creates even more trouble by casting spells of her own. Some explicit descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. Bestseller. 2001'The sweetest, most romantic, most heartwarming book!' MARIAN KEYES'An absolute dream of a book, I couldn't love it more' LINDSEY…
KELK'I read Eight Perfect Hours in one sitting, I couldn't bear to put it down' JODI PICOULT'A beautiful, intricately woven story, so romantic and so charming' BETH O'LEARYWhat if you fell in love...... and then he disappeared?When Noelle and Sam's lives collide one snowy evening, they spend eight perfect hours stuck side by side believing that they'll never see each other again.But soon their lives become entangled in ways they never expected - and it's going to change everything...Don't miss the latest, hotly anticipated love story from Lia Louis! Perfect for fans of Beth O'Leary, Josie Silver and Cecelia Ahern.Praise for Eight Perfect Hours:'Lia Louis has become a must-buy author for me!' JODI PICOULT'A dream of a modern love story. This feel-good read is sprinkled with magic... romantic perfection' HOLLY MILLER'Every page was a joy to read. So gorgeously written, hilarious and full of warmth' JESSICA RYN'An utterly delightful novel from one of the most charming voices in modern romance. I loved it' LOUISE O'NEILL 'Eight perfect hours of escapist, romantic, life affirming bliss' GILLIAN McALLISTER'Funny, sweet and romantic' DEBBIE JOHNSON'Perfectly poignant and beautifully romantic. I adored it' ALEX BROWN'I adored it! Exactly the sort of love story I was craving' PAIGE TOON'Beautifully observed, intricately plotted perfection, full to the brim with her usual wit and warmth and bursting with that magic that no one else quite manages to conjure up' LAURA PEARSONThis book provides a comprehensive reading of a space/place-based experience from the birth of the American horror genre (nineteenth century…
American Romanticism) to its rise and evolution in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Exploring a series of narratives, this study focuses on the role of space and place as key elements for successful articulation of horror. The analysis, therefore, employs different theoretical premises and concepts belonging to human geography, which, while being part of the larger discipline of geography, predominantly directs its attention towards the presence and activities of humans. By connecting such theoretical readings with the continuously evolving American horror genre, this book offers a unique insight into the academically unexplored trans-disciplinary spatially based reading of the genre.Ignited: Most Wanted Book 3 (Most Wanted)
By J. Kenner. 2014
Perfect for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and the Crossfire series. The hot, addictive erotic romance series from the…
New York Times bestselling author of the Stark trilogy, of three enigmatic and powerful men, and the striking women who can bring them to their knees, concludes.He promised to take me as far as I could go - and I wanted to go to the edge. My whole life has been a cover, a con, a lie. I was raised on the thrill of playing someone I'm not. As a rule, I never let anyone get too close - until Cole August makes it impossible for me to stay away. Cole is tough, sexy, and intensely loyal, yet his secrets are dark and his scars run deep. Not many women can handle his past, or the truth behind his fierce demands. But something about him beckons me - and our desire is a game I must play. I know he's dangerous, that even his touch is trouble, but what is passion without a little risk?Don't miss the rest of the other explosive titles in the Most Wanted series: Wanted and Heated.Fall in love with J. Kenner's hot and addictive bestselling Stark series charting the romance of Nikki and Damien Stark in Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, Take Me, Have Me, Play My Game, Seduce Me and Unwrap Me. And follow the passionate relationship of Sylvia Brooks and Jackson Steele in the Stark International trilogy: Say My Name, On My Knees and Under My Skin.(P)2014 Random House AudioFlight: A heart-pounding, race-against-the-clock romantic thriller (Texas Murder Files #2)
By Laura Griffin. 2021
With her signature breathless pacing and suspenseful twists and turns, 'Laura Griffin never fails to put me on the edge…
of my seat' (USA TODAY).If you love Karen Rose, Melinda Leigh and Lisa Gardner, you'll be gripped by Laura Griffin!One tenacious local detective can only get the help he needs from a former forensic photographer with a serial killer on the loose in the new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin. The clock is ticking on a serial killer ready to strike... Forensic photographer Miranda Rhoads has decided to put crime scenes behind her when she moves to the seaside town of Lost Beach. But her plans are quickly upended when, one morning, she comes across a couple sleeping in a canoe, entwined in an embrace. Looking closer, she realizes the man and woman aren't asleep - they've been murdered. Detective Joel Breda is out to find answers - not only about the unidentified victims in the marshy death scene, but also about the aloof and beautiful photographer who seems to know more about his investigation than he does. As they begin to unravel the motivation of a merciless serial killer, Miranda and Joel are in a race to make an arrest - before the killer can find them first.Raves for Laura Griffin:'Desperate Girls is a nail-biting read from the very first page to the final, shocking twist. I could not put this book down' Melinda Leigh'Griffin pulls out all the stops in a phenomenal twist ending that will leave readers stunned' Publishers WeeklyHaunted Nature: Entanglements of the Human and the Nonhuman (Palgrave Gothic)
By Sladja Blazan. 2021
This volume is a study of human entanglements with Nature as seen through the mode of haunting. As an interruption…
of the present by the past, haunting can express contemporary anxieties concerning our involvement in the transformation of natural environments and their ecosystems, and our complicity in their collapse. It can also express a much-needed sense of continuity and relationality. The complexity of the question—who and what gets to be called human with respect to the nonhuman—is reflected in these collected chapters, which, in their analysis of cinematic and literary representations of sentient Nature within the traditional gothic trope of haunting, bring together history, race, postcolonialism, and feminism with ecocriticism and media studies. Given the growing demand for narratives expressing our troubled relationship with Nature, it is imperative to analyze this contested ground.'The sweetest, most romantic, most heartwarming book!' MARIAN KEYES'An absolute dream of a book, I couldn't love it more' LINDSEY…
KELK'I read Eight Perfect Hours in one sitting, I couldn't bear to put it down' JODI PICOULT'A beautiful, intricately woven story, so romantic and so charming' BETH O'LEARYWhat if you fell in love...... and then he disappeared?When Noelle and Sam's lives collide one snowy evening, they spend eight perfect hours stuck side by side believing that they'll never see each other again.But soon their lives become entangled in ways they never expected - and it's going to change everything...Don't miss the latest, hotly anticipated love story from Lia Louis! Perfect for fans of Beth O'Leary, Josie Silver and Cecelia Ahern.Praise for Eight Perfect Hours:'Lia Louis has become a must-buy author for me!' JODI PICOULT'A dream of a modern love story. This feel-good read is sprinkled with magic... romantic perfection' HOLLY MILLER'Every page was a joy to read. So gorgeously written, hilarious and full of warmth' JESSICA RYN'An utterly delightful novel from one of the most charming voices in modern romance. I loved it' LOUISE O'NEILL 'Eight perfect hours of escapist, romantic, life affirming bliss' GILLIAN McALLISTER'Funny, sweet and romantic' DEBBIE JOHNSON'Perfectly poignant and beautifully romantic. I adored it' ALEX BROWN'I adored it! Exactly the sort of love story I was craving' PAIGE TOON'Beautifully observed, intricately plotted perfection, full to the brim with her usual wit and warmth and bursting with that magic that no one else quite manages to conjure up' LAURA PEARSONThe Palgrave Handbook of Gothic Origins
By Clive Bloom. 2021
This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of research on the Gothic Revival. The Gothic Revival was based on emotion rather…
than reason and when Horace Walpole created Strawberry Hill House, a gleaming white castle on the banks of the Thames, he had to create new words to describe the experience of gothic lifestyle. Nevertheless, Walpole’s house produced nightmares and his book The Castle of Otranto was the first truly gothic novel, with supernatural, sensational and Shakespearean elements challenging the emergent fiction of social relationships. The novel’s themes of violence, tragedy, death, imprisonment, castle battlements, dungeons, fair maidens, secrets, ghosts and prophecies led to a new genre encompassing prose, theatre, poetry and painting, whilst opening up a whole world of imagination for entrepreneurial female writers such as Mary Shelley, Joanna Baillie and Ann Radcliffe, whose immensely popular books led to the intense inner landscapes of the Bronte sisters. Matthew Lewis’s The Monk created a new gothic: atheistic, decadent, perverse, necrophilic and hellish. The social upheaval of the French Revolution and the emergence of the Romantic movement with its more intense (and often) atheistic self-absorption led the gothic into darker corners of human experience with a greater emphasis on the inner life, hallucination, delusion, drug addiction, mental instability, perversion and death and the emerging science of psychology. The intensity of the German experience led to an emphasis on doubles and schizophrenic behaviour, ghosts, spirits, mesmerism, the occult and hell. This volume charts the origins of this major shift in social perceptions and completes a trilogy of Palgrave Handbooks on the Gothic—combined they provide an exhaustive survey of current research in Gothic studies, a go-to for students and researchers alike.Through a contemporary Gothic lens, the book explores theatre theories, processes and practices that explore; the impacts of continuing drought…
and natural disaster, the conflicts concerning resource extraction and mining and current political debates focussed on climate change denial. While these issues can be argued from various political and economic platforms, theatrical investigations as discussed here suggest that scholars and theatre makers are becoming empowered to dramaturgically explore the ecological challenges we face now and may face in the future. In doing so the book proposes that theatre can engage in not only climate change analysis and discussion but can develop climate literacies in a broader socio-cultural context.Last Seen Alone: The heartpounding new thriller you won't be able to put down!
By Laura Griffin. 2021
With her signature breathless pacing and suspenseful twists and turns, 'Laura Griffin never fails to put me on the edge…
of my seat' (USA TODAY).If you love Karen Rose, Melinda Leigh and Lisa Gardner, you'll be gripped by Laura Griffin!'I love smart, sophisticated, fast-moving romantic thrillers and Laura Griffin writes them brilliantly' Jayne Ann Krentz'A pulse-pounding romantic thriller' Publishers Weekly.............................................................................................A missing victim. A merciless killer.Up-and-coming attorney Leigh Larson fights for victims of sexual extortion, harassment, and online abuse. She's laser-focused on her career and not afraid to go after the sleaziest targets to get payback for her clients. Austin homicide detective Brandon Reynolds is no stranger to midnight callouts, but his investigation of an abandoned car on a desolate road reveals an unusual crime scene. A pool of blood in the nearby woods suggests a brutal homicide. But where is the victim? The vehicle is registered to twenty-six-year-old Vanessa Adams, yet all Brandon finds inside is a smear of blood and a business card for Leigh Larson, attorney-at-law. Vanessa had hired Leigh just before her disappearance, but Leigh has no leads on who could have wanted her dead. Faced with bewildering evidence and shocking twists, Leigh and Brandon must work against the clock to chase down a ruthless criminal who is out for vengeance..............................................................................................Raves for Laura Griffin:'Desperate Girls is a nail-biting read from the very first page to the final, shocking twist. I could not put this book down' Melinda Leigh'Griffin pulls out all the stops in a phenomenal twist ending that will leave readers stunned' Publishers WeeklyBefore We Fall: The Wildham Series (The Wildham Series #2)
By Grace Lowrie. 2018
When quiet Cally, an amateur ballet dancer, is suddenly diagnosed with cancer she runs away from her boyfriend Liam, her…
job in a call centre and her safe life in Wildham – in order to experience ‘real’ life in London. Taking a job as a stripper and flat-sitting in the top of an office tower she meets her obnoxious neighbour Bay; a tattooed, drug-taking, suicidal artist, haunted by the death of those close to him. Despite their differences, the two strike up a friendship – Bay pushes Cally to try new things while Cally provides Bay with a muse – and they fall in love. But their secrets threaten to tear them apart and time is running out...Performativity of Villainy and Evil in Anglophone Literature and Media
By Nizar Zouidi. 2021
Performativity of Villainy and Evil in Anglophone Literature and Media studies the performative nature of evil characters, acts and emotions…
across intersecting genres, disciplines and historical eras. This collection brings together scholars and artists with different institutional standings, cultural backgrounds and (inter)disciplinary interests with the aim of energizing the ongoing discussion of the generic and thematic issues related to the representation of villainy and evil in literature and media. The volume covers medieval literature to contemporary literature and also examines important aspects of evil in literature such as social and political identity, the gothic and systemic evil practices. In addition to literature, the book considers examples of villainy in film, TV and media, revealing that performance, performative control and maneuverability are the common characteristics of villains across the different literary and filmic genres and eras studied in the volume.Ignited: Most Wanted Book 3 (Most Wanted #Bk. 3)
By J. Kenner. 2014
Perfect for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and the Crossfire series. The hot, addictive erotic romance series from the…
New York Times bestselling author of the Stark trilogy, of three enigmatic and powerful men, and the striking women who can bring them to their knees, concludes.He promised to take me as far as I could go - and I wanted to go to the edge. My whole life has been a cover, a con, a lie. I was raised on the thrill of playing someone I'm not. As a rule, I never let anyone get too close - until Cole August makes it impossible for me to stay away. Cole is tough, sexy, and intensely loyal, yet his secrets are dark and his scars run deep. Not many women can handle his past, or the truth behind his fierce demands. But something about him beckons me - and our desire is a game I must play. I know he's dangerous, that even his touch is trouble, but what is passion without a little risk?Don't miss the rest of the other explosive titles in the Most Wanted series: Wanted and Heated.Fall in love with J. Kenner's hot and addictive bestselling Stark series charting the romance of Nikki and Damien Stark in Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, Take Me, Have Me, Play My Game, Seduce Me and Unwrap Me. And follow the passionate relationship of Sylvia Brooks and Jackson Steele in the Stark International trilogy: Say My Name, On My Knees and Under My Skin.The So Blue Marble (Murder Room #738)
By Dorothy B. Hughes. 1940
Superb Art Deco suspense set in the glamorous world of high society New York from 'An author with a flair…
for terror' The New Yorker'If you wake up in the night screaming with terror, don't say we didn't warn you' New York TimesOnce the dashing, top-hatted twins, Danny and David, who share nice college boy laughs, have the marble, they will do to Griselda what they have done to the others.Her estranged husband, Con, is a thousand miles away, and can't save her.A bloody trail has wound around the so blue marble: years of theft, torture, violence; whispers of secret riches, gold, diamonds, rubies as big as the moon. Soon it would be Griselda's turn.But Griselda believes that nothing ever happens to nice people, and that there is no reason to feel nervous at night, not even in the heart of New York, and knowing what she does about the marble . . .Ignited: Most Wanted Book 3 (Most Wanted #Bk. 3)
By J. Kenner. 2014
Perfect for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and the Crossfire series. The hot, addictive erotic romance series from the…
New York Times bestselling author of the Stark trilogy, of three enigmatic and powerful men, and the striking women who can bring them to their knees, concludes.He promised to take me as far as I could go - and I wanted to go to the edge. My whole life has been a cover, a con, a lie. I was raised on the thrill of playing someone I'm not. As a rule, I never let anyone get too close - until Cole August makes it impossible for me to stay away. Cole is tough, sexy, and intensely loyal, yet his secrets are dark and his scars run deep. Not many women can handle his past, or the truth behind his fierce demands. But something about him beckons me - and our desire is a game I must play. I know he's dangerous, that even his touch is trouble, but what is passion without a little risk?Don't miss the rest of the other explosive titles in the Most Wanted series: Wanted and Heated.Fall in love with J. Kenner's hot and addictive bestselling Stark series charting the romance of Nikki and Damien Stark in Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, Take Me, Have Me, Play My Game, Seduce Me and Unwrap Me. And follow the passionate relationship of Sylvia Brooks and Jackson Steele in the Stark International trilogy: Say My Name, On My Knees and Under My Skin.Ruin: A dramatically powerful, unputdownable love story
By Samantha Towle. 2018
From Samantha Towle, the New York Times bestselling author of Wardrobe Malfunction and Breaking Hollywood, comes a dramatically powerful and…
passionate new contemporary romance.And the new heavyweight champion of the world is... Those are the words that Zeus Kincaid has been waiting to hear since he first put on a pair of boxing gloves. He just didn't think they would come with a tragedy that would change how he viewed the sport forever. Cameron Reed was in her second year at Juilliard when her childhood sweetheart, Zeus Kincaid, walked away from her. A few months later, Cam realized that she would never fulfill her dream of dancing for the New York City Ballet. Now working as a dancer in an upscale club in Manhattan, Cam is brought face-to-face with the man she once loved. And it's her turn to walk away from him. After five years of missing Cam, Zeus isn't prepared to let her go again. But when he finds himself standing on her doorstep the next morning, things don't go quite as he expected... 'You'll be smitten with everything about this entertaining, steamy and feel-good romance' USA Today's Happy Ever After on Breaking Hollywood