The New Critical Idiom : Gothic

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Sound and Thorough Introduction 1 Jun 2006

I came to this book as part of my research for teaching Dracula to A-level students, and have found it to be an extremely useful text to have beside me while reading that and other Gothic novels.

The other reviewer of this novel (who sadly has not left their name, which is unfortunate because their thoughts are eminently sensible and insightful), observes correctly that Botting is not preoccupied with close textual analysis, but with general trends in Gothic from its inception to the end of the twentieth Century. That said, the book by no means lacks detail, rather preferring to examine themes and discourses that the reader can then themselves apply to those texts which they have to study.

It seems that this review is becoming a reposte to that already posted, but it is necessary to answer one criticism made by that writer. They are concerned that the book lays on the critical terminology a bit thick in the Introduction, but I found this a refreshing bonus. To be treated as an intelligent reader, but not to be overwhelmed with meaningless critical posturing, was flattering, and Botting knows his subject well enough (and believes sufficiently in its merits) to find no need for hollow rhetoric.

This is at times a challenging book, and it demands commitment and perception from its reader, and it seems squarely aimed at second or third-year undergraduates who have some grounding in the vocabulary of critical theory. Given that caveat, this is a solid and worthwhile book.