The Victorian Ghost Story and Theology: From Le Fanu to James - Hardcover

by Zoe Lehmann Imfeld (Author)

Preface.- Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- 1. 'Strangely mistaking death for life': Arthur Machen.- 2. 'What is this that I have done?': M.R. James.- 3. 'These devils have made quite a saint of you.': Sheridan Le Fanu.- 4. 'He's there from the moment he knows somebody else is.': Haunted by Paralysis in the Stories of Henry James.- Conclusion.- Bibliography.- Index.

Back Jacket

This book argues that theology is central to an understanding of the literary ghost story. Victorian ghost stories have traditionally been read in the context of agnosticism - as stories which reveal a society struggling with Christian orthodoxy in a new 'Enlightened' world. This book, however, uses theological ideas from St Augustine through to modern theologians to identify a theological journey taken by the protagonists of such stories, and charts each stage of this journey through the short stories it examines. It also proposes a theory of reader participation which creates an imaginary space in which modern epistemology is suspended. The book studies the work of four major authors of the supernatural tale: Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James.

Author Biography

Zoë Lehmann Imfeld is Lecturer in Modern English Literature at the University of Bern, Switzerland. She is co-editor of the volume Theology and Literature after Postmodernity.