We've scoured dark and unholy places and emerged, blinking, with a list of suggested Gothic fiction and non-fiction. These have been are selected with the intent of showing the perseverance and relevance of the Gothic's themes and aesthetic.
The titles below also serve as an introduction to many of the guests at the upcoming Gothic Evening. This is not intended to be an exhaustive survey of the field and should not be taken as such.
Reference & Media
| Author | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giselle Anatol (ed.) | Bringing Light to Twilight | Palgrave | Essays on the cultural significance of the Twilight phenomenon |
| Marcus Hearn | The Art of Hammer | Titan | The posters and productions of the legendary British film company |
| Marcus Hearn | Hammer Glamour | Titan | The leading ladies of Hammer Films |
| Marcus Hearn | The Hammer Story | Titan | The detailed history of the company behind the greatest horror films of all time |
| Marcus Hearn | The Hammer Vault | Titan | A remarkable visual journey through Hammer's history, including props, stills and other intriguing visuals |
| Roz Kaveney (ed.) | Reading the Vampire Slayer | Tauris Parke | Includes series of essays scrutinizing the serious thematic aspects of the ground-breaking television show |
| Victoria Nelson | Gothicka | Harvard University Press | Speculating on the mainstreaming of the Gothic in contemporary America; released April 2012 |
| Jonathan Rigby | Studies in Terror | Signum | A history of international horror cinema, from "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari" to "Let The Right One In" |
Art, Illustration & Design
| Author | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neil Gaiman | Annotated Sandman | Titan | The classic series revisited and analysed, with all the historical and literary references pulled out |
| Francesca Gavin | Hell Bound: New Gothic Art | Lawrence King | A look at recent interpretations of the Gothic aesthetic, highlighting a generation of contemporary artists and their dark visions |
| Edward Gorey | The Gashlycrumb Tinies | Bloomsbury | His famous collection of gruesome (and alphabetical) deaths |
| Edward Gorey | The West Wing | Bloomsbury | A short and surreal mystery, wordless yet surprisingly telling |
| Juxtapoz | Dark Arts | Gingko | Stunning volume of design & illustration from the noted magazine |
| Richelle Mead (adapted by Leigh Dragoon) | Vampire Academy | Razorbill | Foxy adaptation of bestselling series, art by the amazing Emma Vieceli (see below) |
| Joel Meadows | Spooked: A London Gothic | Joel Meadows | Gorgeous photographic collection of London's Gothic heritage; released March 2012 |
| James Pearson (et al.) | Bayou Arcana | Markosia | Graphic novel of the Southern Gothic; released May 2012 |
| Emma Vieceli (et al.) | Telling Tales | Sweatdrop Studios | Eight graphic reinterpretations of classic fairytales, all erring on the side of the original (unnerving) stories, a great sampler of some of contemporary British artists, as well as a showcase of the intersection between the Gothic and Manga |
Gothic Classics
| Author | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jane Austen | Northanger Abbey | Austen's own revisionist (and oddly humorous) take on the Gothic novel |
| Charlotte Bronte | Jane Eyre | The story of an orphan girl, her brooding and mysterious employer, a creaky mansion and a dark secret |
| M.R. James | Collected Ghost Stories | Classic ghost stories of the British landscape, from shambling homes to remote inns, this new edition collects James' complete short works for the first time |
| Daphne Du Maurier | Rebecca | Famous Gothic from the early 20th century, about the search for love, the quest for identity and (of course) a mysterious man and his dark, dark secrets |
| J. Sheridan Le Fanu | Uncle Silas | Brilliant Victorian Gothic features a teenaged heiress at the mercy of her sinister uncle |
| Matthew Lewis | The Monk | One of the grisly tales that began the movement - a puritanical monk is tempted by evil and falls (spectacularly) from grace |
| Bram Stoker | Dracula | Still the greatest vampire novel of all time, told as a series of letters and diary extracts, Stoker slowly and deliberately unfolds the horrifying plans of his sinister Count |
| Horace Walpole | The Castle of Otranto | Another founding tale of the Gothic; Walpole's introduction remains one of the best descriptions of the entire literary movement (possibly because he rationalised it on the spot) |
Contemporary Gothic
| Author | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter S. Beagle | A Fine and Private Place | Multiple editions | Poignant modern ghost story; sadly, currently out of print in the UK |
| Simon Bestwick | The Faceless | Solaris | People are vanishing in the town of Kempforth. A local historian teams up with a psychic and a police inspector, the three soon discover that digging in the town's horrific past may bring its own dangers |
| Glen Duncan | The Last Werewolf | Canongate | Raw, brutal (and more than a little bit sexy), the tale of the last surviving werewolf; Inky Tentacle finalist (2011) |
| Christopher Fowler | Hell Train | Solaris | An ambitious writer pens a tale for Hammer films. His exploration of the studio's decaying glory is intercut with his own proposed screenplay - a Satanic train that prowls across Europe, fueled by the lost and the damned. |
| Christopher Fowler | Red Gloves | PS Publishing | A paired collection of short stories - the first volume featuring London; the second, the world. From black comedies to unrepentent tragedies, Fowler's work covers the gamut of human emotion (at least, the darker sides thereof...) |
| S.L. Grey | The Mall | Corvus | Gruesome tale of a secret world underneath a shopping mall; takes the Gothic sense of atmosphere and adapts it to address issues of capitalism and race |
| S.L. Grey | The Ward | Corvus | The highly anticipated second book from Grey (above); released June 2012 |
| Joe R. Lansdale | Edge of Dark Water | Mulholland | Depression-era "East Texas Noir" and possibly his finest Southern Gothic to date; released May 2012 |
| Tanith Lee | Cold Grey Stones | NewCon Press | A chilling (and very foxy) new collection of short stories from one of the great contemporary Gothic writers |
| Tanith Lee | The Secret Books of Paradys | Duckworth | Collecting four of Lee's finest novels, all taking place in Paradys, a decadent and decaying analog of fin-de-siecle Paris |
| Adam Nevill | Apartment 16 | Tor | Spectacular "Urban Gothic" - the dark secrets that plague the residents of a block of London flats, especially a young American heiress and a tortured artist |
| Suzanne McLeod | The Sweet Scent of Blood | Gollancz | First volume of the Spellcrackers series, a fast-paced and sexy urban fantasy; Genevieve is a star problem solver - and a Sidhe - but when she's dragged into problems in the vampire community, she may be in too deep |
| Suzanne McLeod | The Cold Kiss of Death | Gollancz | Second volume of the Spellcrackers series (as above); Genny craves the quiet life, but ghosts, vampires and ex's align to make that dream impossible |
| Suzanne McLeod | The Bitter Seed of Magic | Gollancz | Third volume of the Spellcrackers series (as above); the murder of another Fae drags Genny in the dark secrets of her own race |
| Erin Morgenstern | The Night Circus | Harvill Secker | The evocative story of star-crossed lovers, set against the lavish background of magical circus; Golden Tentacle finalist (2011) |
| Jonathan Oliver (ed.) | House of Fear | Solaris | Stunning collection of haunted house stories, from B&Bs to bedsits, cottages to castles |
| Tim Powers | Hide Me Among the Graves | Atlantic | The long-awaited sequel to The Stress of Her Recard (below) features the vampire Polidari and the Rosetti siblings; released September 2012 |
| Tim Powers | The Stress of Her Regard | Atlantic | Michael Crawford seeks vengeance for his murdered bride - Shelley, Keats and Byron lend a hand; new edition coming in September 2012 |
| Henriette Rose-Innes | Ninevah | Umuzi | Contemporary Gothic from an award-winning South African author - a swarm of insects infests a luxury estate, Katya investigates while being pursued by demons from her own past |
| William Schafer (ed.) | Tales of Dark Fantasy 2 | Subterranean | Superb collection of dark and disturbing fantasy stories from K.J. Parker, Caitlin Kiernan, Joe Hill and others |
| Mary Stewart | The Ivy Tree | Hodder | Romantic mid-century Gothic, with a young widow, a crumbling ruin and the search for identity; delighted to find it back in print |
| Peter Straub | Ghost Story | Gollancz | Classic ghost story about ghost stories; elderly members of a gentlemen's club swap scary tales that become ever more poignant, soon the lines begin to blur between reality and fantasy |
| Donna Tartt | The Little Friend | Bloomsbury | Southern Gothic tale of a precocious young sleuth prodding at the unsolved murders of a small town |
| Steve Rasnic Tem | Deadfall Hotel | Solaris | A widower and his daughter move into a remote hotel where the guests aren't wholly human; released in April 2012 |
| Terry Westby-Nunn | The Sea of Wise Insects | Jacana | Contemporary South African novel about Alice Wolfe: scarred, lonely, imprisoned and haunted by an enigmatic manuscript |
Vampires
| Author | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poppi Z. Brite | Lost Souls | Penguin | Brite's acclaimed 1992 novel featuring long-running characters "Steve and Ghost"; the novel's complex plot layers vampires, bleak nihilism and a touch of the nature/nuture debate. |
| Nancy A. Collins | Sunglasses After Dark | Little Brown | Introduced Sonja Blue, charismatic anti-heroine & archetype of the early 90's lusty/violent vampire horror scene |
| Jon Courtenay Grimwood | The Fallen Blade | Orbit | Atilo, the finest assassin in Venice plays a dangerous political game - made all the more so by his discovery of a beautiful young boy with a taste for blood; the first book in the award-winning author's new alternate history trilogy |
| Jon Courtenay Grimwood | The Outcast Blade | Orbit | As empires go to war, the fate of Venice rests in the hands of three people - the tormented Tycho, the grieving Giulietta and a mysterious and lethal woman; sequel to The Fallen Blade, released in May 2012 |
| Kim Lakin-Smith | Tourniquet | Immanion | Rock vampires rule a broken city in this stylish story of a Gothic cyberpunk future |
| George R.R. Martin | Fevre Dream | Gollancz | Vampires on riverboats - a combination of fang-based world-building & the Southern Gothic |
| Stephanie Meyer | Twilight | Atom | Love it or hate it, Meyer's novel of teen angst and immortal love is undeniably influential |
| Anne Rice | Interview with the Vampire | Little, Brown | The first in the zillion-selling series that retells the vampire myth from the (sexy) (tormented) villain's point of view |
| Ian Whates (ed.) | The Bitten Word | NewCon Press | Gorgeous & award-winnning collection of vampire tales from over a dozen authors, including Sam Stone, Tanith Lee, John Kaiine, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Kelley Armstrong and Storm Constantine |
Young Adult
(with much help received from the experts at The Booksmugglers)
| Author | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franny Billingsley | Chime | Bloomsbury | Witchcraft, family, love and destiny all mingle in the story of Briony and her twin sister, Rose. |
| Sarah Rees Brennan | The Demon's Lexicon | Simon & Schuster | First book in her acclaimed trilogy. Nicolas and Alan are brothers - and on the run from powerful magicians. When Alan is cursed by a demon, Nick has to turn the tables on their magical tormenters and take the battle to them. |
| Rosemary Clement-Moore | Texas Gothic | Random House | Amy Goodnight is a witch from a long line of witches. But her desire to live a "normal life" is disrupted by a mysterious ghostly message (and a foxy young cowboy). |
| S.D. Crockett | After the Snow | Pan Macmillan | Chilling new young adult story follows a teenager on his own in a new ice age, with only a spirit to guide him. The story combines Gothic tropes with the ever-popular post-apocalyptic landscape; released March 2012 |
| Alyxandra Harvey | Haunting Violet | Bloomsbury | Violet's mother is a fake medium, but Violet is a real one. A revisionist take on Gothics with a young girl caught between ghosts and her family's dark past, just in an entirely new way |
| Saundra Mitchell | The Vespertine | Harcourt | Historical romance about a 19th century teenager with prophetic dreams (as if the social difficulties of the upper class weren't traumatic enough); released in March 2012 |
| Marcus Sedgwick | White Crow | Orion | Rebecca and her friend Ferelith explore the crumbling ruins of Winterfold and, over the course of a long summer, begin to pry into its dark past. Sedgwick interlaces the teenagers' story with that of a 17th century Rector, the cause of said darkness. |
| Anna Sheehan | A Long, Long Sleep | Gollancz | This science fictional retelling of the Sleeping Beauty myth in a near-future dystopia showcases the versatility of Gothic themes. With technology replacing the supernatural, Sheehan proves that twisted families, overbearing guardians and terrifying spirits aren't just things of the past. |
Blackwell's Charing Cross
Thursday, 8 March 2012
6.00 pm to 8.00 pm
100 Charing Cross Road
020 7292 5100
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The Kitschies are a tentacular annual prize presented to the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining genre literature.
