A Mind Turned in Upon Itself - Writings on J. S. Le Fanu

A Mind Turned in Upon Itself - Writings on J. S. Le Fanu

Published: 28-08-2025

Original publication: 0000

Rating: 4

Language: en

eBook status: Skipped   AudioBook status: Skipped

ISBN: 9781783800568

Publisher: Swan River Press

Sources

SourceIDLink
GoodReads 242172293 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242172293
Amazon 1783800569 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1783800569

Description

“He stands absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories.” – M. R. James

A major influence on M. R. James, considered by Henry James “ideal reading for the hours after midnight”, and thought to be one of the inspirations for Bram Stoker’s Dracula through his classic vampire tale “Carmilla”—Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s ghost stories continue to loom large in the Gothic imagination.

This study considers Le Fanu’s troubled life, his haunting stories, and his continued influence on horror literature by exploring the richness of his imagination, and the finesse with which he expands upon and combines elements of Irish folklore, the mysticism of Swedenborg, and the nascent science of psychology. In this volume, Jim Rockhill goes beyond such classics as “Green Tea” and “Schalken the Painter” by examining the manifold avenues of terror offered throughout the work of Ireland’s master of supernatural terror.