Cornish Gothic, 1830-1913: (Gothic Literary Studies)

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.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Corpses, Coasts and Carriages Cornwall: A Brief Introduction The Cornish Gothic The Regional Gothic Cornish Gothic Criticism Part One - Landscapes and Legends: Preserving and Confronting the Past Chapter One: ‘The dead lay buried and yet unburied’: Minescapes and the Subterranean World The Subterranean Gothic Wheal Darkness by H. D. Lowry Chapter Two: ‘If there’s got to be wrecks, please send them to we’: Seascapes and Shipwrecks Shipwreck as Gothic Master Trope The Dead Secret and Wreck Media Bram Stoker and ‘The Coming of Abel Behenna’ Chapter Three: ‘Hear the most curious stories’: Folklore, Antiquarianism and Gothic Rewritings In the Roar of the Sea by Sabine Baring-Gould Part Two – Travel and Tourism: Cornish Identity and Encounters with Modernity Chapter Four: 'Out of the sound of the railway whistle': Gothic Travel and the Expansion of the Railway Victorian Gothic Travel Victorian Travel in Cornwall The Jewel of Seven Stars and Gothic Travel into Cornwall ‘Colonel Benyon’s Entanglement’ Chapter Five: ‘The poet gives all his votes to us’: King Arthur and Arthurian Tourism in Tintagel Nineteenth-Century Medievalism Arthur in Cornwall Case Studies Chapter Six: ‘A phantom to proclaim their hoary and solitary age’: Cornish Ghosts and Hauntings Visiting Haunted Cornwall Economic Spectres Haunted Shores Conclusion