Gothic Chapbooks, Bluebooks and Shilling Shockers, 1797-1830

The Gothic Chapbook, Bluebook, and Shilling Shocker, 1797-1835, is a groundbreaking study that explores the origins of the gothic chapbook, its publishers, and authors, and establishes its impact on the development of the gothic genre. It reveals that the chapbook flooded the marketplace in the late eighteenth century, creating a separate secondary market for gothic tales. The study is a response to the need to contextualize the chapbook in understanding the broader genre of gothic literature.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 15 January 2021
Publisher: University of Wales Press

The Gothic Chapbook, Bluebook, and Shilling Shocker, 1797-1835, is a groundbreaking exploration that delves into the origins, publishers, and authors of gothic chapbooks, shedding light on their significant impact on the development of the gothic genre. Often regarded as the illegitimate offspring of the gothic novel, these chapbooks flooded the market in the late eighteenth century, creating a separate and distinct secondary market for tales of terror. Driven by a handful of individuals such as booksellers, dealers, library proprietors, stationers, and small publishers, they produced an astonishing over four hundred chapbooks, bluebooks, and shilling shockers containing gothic tales sourced from magazines, reworkings of popular novels, excerpts of entire inset tales, and original horror stories. This study aims to address the urgent need to contextualize the gothic chapbook in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the entire gothic genre.

The Gothic Chapbook, Bluebook, and Shilling Shocker, 1797-1835, represents a groundbreaking endeavor in surveying the origins, publishers, and authors of gothic chapbooks, thereby establishing their profound influence on the evolution of the gothic genre. Often considered the illegitimate offspring of the gothic novel, these chapbooks surged onto the market in the late eighteenth century, carving out a distinct and separate secondary market for unsettling tales of terror. Fueled by a handful of individuals, including booksellers, dealers, library proprietors, stationers, and small publishers, they exerted considerable effort in producing an astounding four hundred chapbooks, bluebooks, and shilling shockers. These volumes were brimming with gothic narratives sourced from various sources, including magazines, reworkings of popular novels, excerpts of entire inset tales, and original horror stories. This study serves as a response to the pressing and urgent need to contextualize the gothic chapbook in order to attain a more comprehensive and thorough perspective of the entire gothic genre.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 144 x 223 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781786836700