Tag: generally gothic

Guest Post: Wicked Women and the Female Gothic, Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ & ‘My Cousin Rachel’

As the sun in the northern hemisphere gains strength, many of us seek the coast. Always geographically close, on this island as I am, the coast I seek is literary: Du Maurier’s sharp and unforgiving coastline, haunted by traumas past and present. Though born in London in 1907, Du Maurier is intrinsically linked to the… Read More Guest Post: Wicked Women and the Female Gothic, Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ & ‘My Cousin Rachel’

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That Very Special Gingerbread: ‘A Gothic Cookbook’ Recipe

When Ella Buchan, co-author of A Gothic Cookbook, reached out to me, I was excited for the opportunity to test any recipe in her and Alessandra Pino’s forthcoming gothic literature-inspired cookery book. When she offered “that very special gingerbread” from Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 classic, Rebecca, it felt fated. I love ginger and Rebecca with… Read More That Very Special Gingerbread: ‘A Gothic Cookbook’ Recipe

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Love Letters to Poe: A Convergence of Wonder and Terror

“[D]iscover a convergence of wonder and terror, romance and horror within its pages.” This is the introduction and invitation offered by Sara Crocoll Smith, publisher and editor-in-chief of Love Letters to Poe. In its first issue, the new gothic fiction magazine brings six short pieces together, each inspired by the life and works of Edgar… Read More Love Letters to Poe: A Convergence of Wonder and Terror

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Aesthetically Hoarded Guest Post: Witches of Western Art

The Season of the Witch is half over and there is so much yet to explore. Soon I hope to take you on a literary journey of the witch as character, but in the meantime, I have enlisted some help. 𝕬𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖞 𝕳𝖔𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖉 I could think of no one better to dive deep into the canvas… Read More Aesthetically Hoarded Guest Post: Witches of Western Art

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A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embryonic Soul’ by E. Vegvary

Today I am delighted to share with you the poetry of E. Vegvary. Intriguingly entitled ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embrionic Soul’, it is a striking snapshot of long spanning conflict, filled with gothic imagery and the dirty fingerprints of religion. You will find the piece below, accompanied by a small gallery of… Read More A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embryonic Soul’ by E. Vegvary

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A Poet’s House, Pleasure’s Temple: Keats’ Gothic, Epic, & Sublime

Born on Halloween, 1795, John Keats (d. 1821) was a tragic character, a romantic, and a poet. Considered a key figure amongst the second generation of British Romantic poets following in the footsteps of William Wordsworth, William Blake, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Keats and his young contemporaries were more open to exploring the space in… Read More A Poet’s House, Pleasure’s Temple: Keats’ Gothic, Epic, & Sublime

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Deliriously Glorious: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Leaving the modern glass front on Evans Way, Boston, behind, a dimly lit tunnel transports its visitors deep into an inner-city oasis. An opulent garden blooms under a glass roof far above. Walls rise on every side with windows and archways beckoning to the inside beyond. Everything is lavish, palatial, and foreign to Massachusetts. This… Read More Deliriously Glorious: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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Medical Men and Murderers: The Barber-Surgeons, Burke & Hare

In the Middle Ages, medical physicians favoured academia and aristocracy, working at universities or in private residence for the castle-dwelling wealthy. They offered consultations, but turned their noses up at surgery. With Europe frequently in battle during this long era, however, soldiers required more than consultation. 𝕭𝖆𝖗𝖇𝖊𝖗-𝕾𝖚𝖗𝖌𝖊𝖔𝖓𝖘 Out of necessity, barbers, with their steady hands… Read More Medical Men and Murderers: The Barber-Surgeons, Burke & Hare

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Generally Gothic Book Club Readalong: ‘The Masque of the Red Death’

As the world’s population becomes increasingly locked away indoors, many of us are feeling panic or anxiety in the face of change and uncertainty. Whilst we all strive to maintain our collective physical well-being, it’s important not to let our mental health slip. The Bookstagram community thrives on indoor activity and online connection, but it’s… Read More Generally Gothic Book Club Readalong: ‘The Masque of the Red Death’

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An Unutterable Wretchedness of the Mind: ‘Jane Eyre’

Born in Yorkshire, England, on the 21st of April, 1816, Charlotte Brontë was the third of six Brontë children, and the longest surviving. Along with her younger sisters Emily (1818-1848) and Anne (1820-1849), Charlotte remains a popular author to this day. She completed four novels in her lifetime, three of which she saw published (the… Read More An Unutterable Wretchedness of the Mind: ‘Jane Eyre’

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Stone upon Stone: ‘Circe’ Readalong

Madeline Miller’s 2018 international number 1 bestseller, Circe, takes classical Greek literature, in turn based upon classical Greek mythology, as its subject. The title character is perhaps most famous for her appearance in Homer’s ancient epic poem, The Odyssey. This original text follows a war hero named Odysseus on his journey home after ten years… Read More Stone upon Stone: ‘Circe’ Readalong

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Decadence and Dark Ages’ Guest Post: Medieval Gothic

January has been dedicated (half-absently, thanks to a vicious virus) to the exploration of the Gothic Muses, to historical and artistic influences on our beloved genre. For today’s post, I am delighted to hand the keyboard over to the delectable Decadence and Dark Ages; a professional spooky nerd and devout medieval gothicist! I am particularly… Read More Decadence and Dark Ages’ Guest Post: Medieval Gothic

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Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Lore in ‘Little Sister Death’

Whilst some of you are still making your way through Little Sister Death for the #generallygothicbookworm read-along which Gothic Bookworm and I have been hosting throughout December, we’ve decided to postpone our final, spoiler-filled blog posts until after Christmas… Having finished the novel ourselves, however, we’re both too filled with feelings to stay silent until… Read More Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Lore in ‘Little Sister Death’

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Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Midway Musings on ‘Little Sister Death’

“𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓯𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵 𝔂𝓸𝓾’𝓵𝓵 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻.” Now there’s a claim that’s hard to refuse! During the summer I spent a month, entitled 🥀 Southern Spell 🥀 , exploring the southern gothic. I first posted (on Instagram) about William Gay’s Little Sister Death then. Some of you praised the novel, or declared adoration for… Read More Generally Gothic Bookworm Readalong: Midway Musings on ‘Little Sister Death’

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Into that Eden of Poisonous Flowers: ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter’ Readalong

Welcome to the very second Generally Gothic Book Club read-along, and thank you for your patience as this week’s read-along turned into this fortnight‘s read-along… As explained over on Instagram, November, dubbed ‘Nature is Gothic’, has been dedicated to exploring the – you guessed it – gothic within our natural world. Whilst many of us are… Read More Into that Eden of Poisonous Flowers: ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter’ Readalong

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Flickering… in the Middle of Nowhere: ‘The Wind’

“𝓘𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓮 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶; 𝓪 𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓯𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓷𝓸𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮?” – Lizzy, The Wind The bleak and blustering narrative of The Wind takes place during the pioneer days in a wild western state of America. Lizzy and her husband Isaac live alone, in a simple cabin surrounded by… Read More Flickering… in the Middle of Nowhere: ‘The Wind’

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The Ecstasy of Admiration: ‘The Flowering of the Strange Orchid’ Readalong

Welcome to the very first Generally Gothic Book Club read-along! As explained over on Instagram, November, dubbed ‘Nature is Gothic’, has been dedicated to exploring the – you guessed it – gothic within our natural world. Whilst many of us are enjoying dark, drawn-out evenings in the arms of autumn, and the weather is getting… Read More The Ecstasy of Admiration: ‘The Flowering of the Strange Orchid’ Readalong

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‘True Detective’: The Eternality of the Gothic

Season 1 Analysis, Part 2 True Detective is an HBO anthology series made up, currently, of 3 seasons. The initial eight-part mini-series (now known as season 1), which aired in 2014, is set in Louisiana, USA. Season 1 follows a pair of homicide detectives, Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson), as they… Read More ‘True Detective’: The Eternality of the Gothic

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Between One Cap and One Period: Reading William Faulkner

In an interview in the spring of 1956, Southern Gothic author William Faulkner was asked to advise readers who remained unable to understand his writing after two or three attempts. His response was simple: “Read it four times.”“I am trying to say it all in one sentence,” he continued, “between one cap and one period.”… Read More Between One Cap and One Period: Reading William Faulkner

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The Gothic History of the Great, American Freakshow

P. T. BARNUM The name Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) is synonymous with the circus. He is, after all, the Barnum of Barnum & Bailey which, upon merging with Ringling Bros. following the deaths of both Barnum & Bailey, became America’s longest running circus, pitching up for the final time in 2017. On the contemporary popularity… Read More The Gothic History of the Great, American Freakshow

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Beneath the Big Top: Interview with a Circus Artist

Have you ever been dazzled by the shining lights and daring feats performed beneath the big top? Have you ever, even just for a moment, wanted to run away with the circus? Having done just that, Alia Ripley, touring circus performer, actor, and aspiring director, joins Generally Gothic to discuss the role of social commentary… Read More Beneath the Big Top: Interview with a Circus Artist

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‘Sawdust & Sequins: The Art of the Circus’

The story begins “250 years ago, on an abandoned patch of land near London’s Waterloo, [when] showman, entrepreneur and equestrian rider Philip Astley drew out a circle in the ground and filled it with astounding physical acts. This spectacle was the world’s very first circus. […] Every circus, anywhere, began at this moment in 1768.”… Read More ‘Sawdust & Sequins: The Art of the Circus’

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Found Circus Photographs: Forgotten in the Mitten Interview

Forgotten in the Mitten is an online shop filled with “forgotten or discarded” items, based in Michigan, USA – nicknamed the ‘Mitten State’ after the shape created on mapping its outline. Everything, including found photographs, oddities, and antiques, is handpicked by treasure-collector and shop-owner, Erica, who joins Generally Gothic to discuss her obsession with the… Read More Found Circus Photographs: Forgotten in the Mitten Interview

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Enamoured with ‘The Love Witch’

If you’re able to overlook the background modern cars, the stickers on the soles of Elaine’s black boots, and Trish’s mobile phone, ‘The Love Witch’ (2016) could easily be mistaken for a psychedelic, Italian giallo horror, or tantalising technicolour melodrama of the 1950s and 60s, to which it pays otherwise flawless homage. Written, directed, composed,… Read More Enamoured with ‘The Love Witch’

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Stoker’s Muse: The Blood Countess

Cited alongside Vlad the Impaler as an inspiration for Bram Stoker’s eponymous vampire, Dracula, the blood-thirsty version of ‘The Blood Countess’ is the one most ingrained in the collective memory. Some scholars, however, now question the validity of numerous accusations, suggesting that rather than a murderer, as a powerful & recently widowed female figure, Bathory… Read More Stoker’s Muse: The Blood Countess

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Understanding Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, Part 1

The Truth about Frankenstein PART ONE OF TWO Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus is victim to a whole host of misconceptions. As we began this year with the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the novel (which took place on January 1st, 1818), and as today, February 1st, is the anniversary of Mary Shelley’s (1797 –… Read More Understanding Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, Part 1

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