Gothic Fiction and the Invention of Terrorism : The Politics and Aesthetics of Fear in the Age of the Reign of Terror

This Book Examines The Connections Between The Growth Of'terror Fiction' - The Genre Now Known As 'gothic' - In The Late Eighteenth Century, And The Simultaneous Appearance Of The Conceptual Origins Of'terrorism' As A Category Of Political Action. In The 1790s, Crawford Argues, Four Inter-connected Bodies Of Writing Arose In Britain: The Historical Mythology Of The French Revolution, The Political Rhetoric Of 'terrorism', The Genre Ofpolitical Conspiracy Theory, And The Literary Genre Of Gothic Fiction, Known Atthe Time As 'terrorist Novel Writing'. All Four Bodies Of Writing Drew Heavily Upon One Another, In Order To Articulate Their Shared Sense Of The Radical And Monstrous Otherness Of The Extremes Of Human Evil, A Sense Which Was Quite Newto The Eighteenth Century, But Has Remained Central To The Ways In Which Wehave Thought And Written About Evil And Violence Ever Since-- Machine Generated Contents Note: -- Introduction Chapter 1: Terror Before Terrorism Chapter 2: The Reign Of Terror Chapter 3: The Secret Masters Walk Amongst Us Chapter 4: Popular Gothic Chapter 5: The Gothic Legacy Epilogue: The Wars On Terror Bibliography Index. Joseph Crawford. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 199-210) And Index. Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2014 This book examines the connections between the growth of'terror fiction' - the genre now known as 'Gothic' - in the late eighteenthcentury, and the simultaneous appearance of the conceptual origins of'terrorism' as a category of political action. In the 1790s, Crawford argues, fourinter-connected bodies of writing arose in Britain: the historical mythology ofthe French Revolution, the political rhetoric of 'terrorism', the genre ofpolitical conspiracy theory, and the literary genre of Gothic fiction, known atthe time as 'terrorist novel writing'. All four bodies of writing drew heavilyupon one another, in order to articulate their shared sense of the radical andmonstrous otherness of the extremes of human evil, a sense which was quite newto the eighteenth century, but has remained central to the ways in which wehave thought and written about evil and violence ever since. "This book examines the connections between the growth of 'terror fiction' - the genre now known as 'Gothic' - in the late eighteenth century, and the simultaneous appearance of the conceptual origins of 'terrorism' as a category of political action. In the 1790s, Crawford argues, four inter-connected bodies of writing arose in Britain: the historical mythology of the French Revolution, the political rhetoric of 'terrorism', the genre of political conspiracy theory, and the literary genre of Gothic fiction, known at the time as 'terrorist novel writing'. All four bodies of writing drew heavily upon one another, in order to articulate their shared sense of the radical and monstrous otherness of the extremes of human evil, a sense which was quite new to the eighteenth century, but has remained central to the ways in which we have thought and written about evil and violence ever since"-- Provided by publisher Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 7 Introduction......Page 8 1. Terror before Terrorism......Page 16 2. The Reign of Terror......Page 52 3. The Secret Masters Walk Among Us......Page 108 4. Popular Gothic......Page 146 5. The Gothic Legacy......Page 168 Epilogue: The Wars on Terror......Page 204 Bibliography......Page 214 Index......Page 226