Gothic Canada: Reading the Spectre of a National Literature

Canadians have always been obsessed with the idea of their own identities. Stories that tell us who we are provide a reassuring sense of identity for the individual and the nation. Hockey. Maple Leaves. Beavers. But collective stories tend to be haunted by a fear that a shared narrative might be nothing more than an elaborate artifice. This fear has long been a source of gothic inspiration for Canadian writers. A haunted Canadian self returns again and again. Polite. Friendly. Not American. With examples of gothic discourse from Canadian fiction, autobiography, film, poetry, and drama, Justin Edwards analyzes the ghost at the heart of the nation. A major contribution to cultural and literary studies, Gothic Canada unearths two centuries of Canadian gothic writings to reveal uncanny traditions of trauma, repression, and monstrosity.


Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: University of Alberta Press
Published: 02/02/2010
ISBN: 9780888644411
Pages: 232
Weight: 0.77lbs
Size: 9.02h x 6.10w x 0.56d

Review Citations: Foreword 09/01/2005 pg. 39
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2007 pg. 296
Foreword 08/19/2009