This examination of 32 ghost stories by 21 Victorian women writers defines a new genre, Feminist Gothic, that utilizes the Gothic structure and its uncanny atmosphere of ambiguity to deploy competing narratives that seek to undermine patriarchy by simultaneously upholding and subverting its dominant myths. While a surface reading of these tales often interprets the outer, public, overt voice as one of patriarchal appeasement, a second reading uncovers an inner, private, covert voice that undermines the first. By focusing exclusively on women's stories and examining Victorian ghost stories by lesser-known women writers alongside those more widely disseminated and discussed, this study aims to establish a definition of Feminist Gothic that transcends the binaries of horror/terror, physical/psychological, and intrusive/liminal. It also explores the issues that haunt the Victorian female literary imagination and techniques women writers employ to incarnate and exorcise those revenants. Aimed at scholars of feminist literary criticism, Victorian literature, and the Gothic genre, this study combines close readings of primary sources with current scholarship, arranged thematically in chapters that examine women's issues, including marriage, children, and property ownership.
| ISBN: | 9781041028529 |
| Publication date: | 18th December 2025 |
| Author: | Anne DeLong |
| Publisher: | Routledge an imprint of Taylor & Francis |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 210 pages |
| Series: | Routledge Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature |
| Genres: |
Feminism and feminist theory Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers |
This examination of 32 ghost stories by 21 Victorian women writers defines a new genre, Feminist Gothic, that utilizes the Gothic structure and its uncanny atmosphere of ambiguity to deploy competing narratives that seek to undermine patriarchy by simultaneously upholding and subverting its dominant myths. While a surface reading of these tales often interprets the outer, public, overt voice as one of patriarchal appeasement, a second reading uncovers an inner, private, covert voice that undermines the first.
Feminist Gothic features in the following genres: Feminism and feminist theory, Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers
Hardback. £154.79, down from the £171.99 cover price. Not Available.
Feminist Gothic was written by Anne DeLong and published by Routledge an imprint of Taylor & Francis
Feminist Gothic has 210 pages
Yes it is part of Routledge Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature series
£154.79, reduced from £171.99. Not Available.