The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Oxford Books of Prose) [Paperback]

Chris Baldick (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0192862197 | ISBN-13: 978-0192862198 | Publication Date: November 19, 2001

Brimming with tales of terror, suspense, and the uncanny, this work offers the first collection devoted to the Gothic genre. Each story contains the common elements of the gothic tale--a warped sense of time, a claustrophobic setting, a link to archaic modes of thought, and the impression of a descent into disintegration. Yet taken together, they reveal the progression of the genre from stories of feudal villains amid crumbling ruins to a greater level of sophistication in which writers brought the gothic tale out of its medieval setting, and placed it in the contemporary world. Bringing together the work of such writers as Eudora Welty, Thomas Hardy, Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner, Arthur Conan Doyle, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jorge Luis Borges, The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales presents a wide array of the sinister and unsettling for all lovers of ghost stories, fantasy, and horror.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fog-enshrouded castle, the crumbling family manor; old secrets unveiled, curses cast, chains clanking, fear and trembling; dread, decay, disintegration, death--each of these trademarks of the well-made Gothic tale is vividly represented in this comprehensive anthology. Informatively introduced and chronologically arranged, the 37 stories showcase the Gothic tradition from its late-18th-century inception up to the present. Included are genre classics from such illustrious practitioners as Poe, Hawthorne, Lovecraft and McGrath, as well as gems from literary masters like Faulkner, Welty, Oates and Borges, all of whom dabble(d) to fine effect in the form. Among the highlights are "The Parricide Punished," an anonymous entry from 1799 set in an enormous castle and narrated by a guest whose visit becomes a waking nightmare; Eden Glasgow's "Jordan's End," in which a long history of family madness gives rise to a most untimely death; F. M. Mayor's "Miss DeMannering of Asham," the story of two women on holiday who get more local color than they bargained for when they learn the shocking truth about DeMannering's dead infant; and especially Ray Russell's bizarre "Sardonicus," whose title character gives the kind of villainous performance that evokes Vincent Price in his horror-movie heyday.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The perfect book to put beside the bed of a timorous guest you wish would go home."--The Economist

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192862197
• ISBN-13: 978-0192862198
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,226,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some I've already read elsewhere, but the new ones to me were riveting! Great gothic collection!, April 1, 2006

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Oxford Books of Prose) (Paperback)

I wanted to combine a good gothic book with the gothic romance I intended to read and had been on my TBR pile for a while and found this collection at a bookstore. The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales has a large collection stories by authors from times that vary from Georgian period to recent years. Some are dark and sinister, others have a mystery to discover while there are those that have only the gothic atmosphere down pat. There are quite a few popular authors here -- William Faulkner, Edgar Allan Poe, Angela Carter and Joyce Carol Oates, to name a few. There are also some stories written by "Anonymous." My favorite stories are "The Lady of the House of Love," by Angela Carter, Eden Glasgow's "Jordan's End," and Ray Russell's "Sardonicus." The stories are quite dark and are some of the best in the gothic genre. I've already read some of the stories from the authors I've enjoyed over the years (like Poe and Oates), but the ones I hadn't read made this a very enjoyable read for me. I cannot recommend this unique collection enough.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Views of the Dark Side, March 20, 2003

By 

Trilby Busch "bibliophile" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Oxford Books of Prose) (Paperback)

This is a wonderful anthology, giving a full historical spectrum of Gothic tales from silly early ones to chilling modern ones. I've used this as a textbook in two courses I teach in college, and students have been both amused (at blatantly Freudian overtones in 18th century stories) and horrified (especially at Pizarnek's account of Erzebet Bathory's perversions). My favorites are Carter's "Lady of the House of Love" and Cowles' "The Vampire of Kaldenstein," both of which combine eerieness with ironic humor.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Reading, December 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Hardcover)

This is a very interesting collection of literature. It includes writing from the late 1700s extending to the present. What makes this collection so amazing is that it not only includes stories from Poe, Lovecraft, and Hawthorne, but it also has stories taken from periodicals and anthologies long out of print. You'd never find some of this writing anywhere else, and it is truly amazing.
All of the stories do have somewhat of a dark and twisted theme, but they are all very rich.
If seriously considering this book, I highly recommend purchasing it in a hardback edition. It will last you much longer, and you'll be glad for this after reading it.