First published in 1990, this book represents the first full-length study of into the group of novels designated ‘Rosicrucian’ and traces the emergence of this distinct fictional genre, revealing a continuous occult tradition running through seemingly diverse literary texts. Taking the Enlightenment as a starting point, the author shows how the physician’s secular appropriation of the idea of eternal life, through the study of longevity and physical decay, attracted writers like William Godwin. It focuses on the bodily immortality of the Rosicrucian hero and investigates the novels of five major writers — Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Maturin, and Bulwer-Lytton.

First published in 1990, this book represents the first full-length study of into the group of novels designated �Rosicrucian� and traces the emergence of this distinct fictional genre, revealing a continuous occult tradition running through seemingly diverse literary texts. Taking the Enlightenment as a starting point, the author shows how the physician�s secular appropriation of the idea of eternal life, through the study of longevity and physical decay, attracted writers like William Godwin. It focuses on the bodily immortality of the Rosicrucian hero and investigates the novels of five major writers � Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Maturin, and Bulwer-Lytton.

First published in 1990, this book represents the first full-length study of into the group of novels designated ‘Rosicrucian’ and traces the emergence of this distinct fictional genre, revealing a continuous occult tradition running through seemingly diverse literary texts. Taking the Enlightenment as a starting point, the author shows how the physician’s secular appropriation of the idea of eternal life, through the study of longevity and physical decay, attracted writers like William Godwin. It focuses on the bodily immortality of the Rosicrucian hero and investigates the novels of five major writers — Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Maturin, and Bulwer-Lytton.

This book asks why so many authors drew on Cornwall for inspiration across the long nineteenth century, and considers the seismic cultural changes in Cornwall that spurred this interest – from the collapse of the mining industry to the developing national rail network; from the birth of tourism to the neomedieval rise in interest in King Arthur. Understanding frequently overlooked Cornwall in this period is vital to understanding Gothic literature, the Victorian imagination, intellectual and creative networks, and attitudes towards regionality. The first part of the book considers landscape and legend, defining a mining Gothic tradition, exposing the shipwreck as Gothic mastertrope, and demonstrating how antiquarians drew from Cornish legends and lore. The second part explores encounters with modernity, investigating the impact of railway expansion on access to Cornwall, the development of a Cornish King Arthur as a key figure of Victorian masculinity, and the specific features of the Cornish ghost story.

In a wide-ranging series of introductory essays written by some of the leading figures in the field, this book is one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date guides on the diverse and murky world of the gothic in literature, film and culture.

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