California Gothic: the Dark Side of the Dream

Name: California Gothic: the Dark Side of the Dream
ISBN: 9781839983795

Charles L. Crow

Anthem Press · Print & ebook · January 16, 2024

A discovery pick for readers interested in California Gothic: the Dark Side of the Dream.

Horror Lit Crit Gothic & Romance Lit Crit Regional American Literature

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Who it’s for: Fiction, poetry, and film trace California’s dream and its darker histories.
Themes: California’s dream turned nightmare, Suppressed histories and injustices, Gothic visions of California’s past
Genres: Gothic & Romance Lit Crit, Regional American Literature, Horror Lit Crit

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About this book

California Gothic explores the California dream and its dark inversion as a nightmare, as illustrated in fiction, poetry, and film. California began as a literary invention, a magic island, in a Spanish romance before conquistadors first visited the land.

From early days to the present, the California dream of happiness in a land of new beginnings has been maintained by suppression of disturbing realities: above all, the destruction of native peoples; and by events and facts such as the tragedy of the Donner Party, the persistence of poverty and crime in the golden land, disturbing crimes such as the Black Dahlia; and pandemics and ecological disaster. This book explores a rich Gothic tradition that exposes the repressed past and imagines the fates awaiting a failed California.

California’s Gothic Past

Fiction, poetry, and film trace California’s dream and its darker histories.

Come here for

California’s dream and its dark inversion
The literary tradition of California as a magic island

Expect

The destruction of native peoples
The Donner Party tragedy

Where it sits

Regional American Literature	79%
Horror Lit Crit	66%
Gothic & Romance Lit Crit	46%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

Gothic & Romance Lit Crit
Horror Lit Crit
Regional American Literature

Authors: Charles L. Crow
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: January 16, 2024
Format: Print & ebook
Theme: California’s dream turned nightmare · Suppressed histories and injustices · Gothic visions of California’s past
Reading lane: Gothic & Romance Lit Crit