This edited collection examines Gothic works written by women
authors in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, with a
specific focus on the novels and chapbooks produced by less widely
commercially and critically popular writers. Bringing these authors to
the forefront of contemporary critical examinations of the Gothic,
chapters in this collection examine how these works impacted the
development of ‘women’s writing’ and Gothic writing during this time.
Offering readers an original look at the literary landscape of the period
and the roles of the creative women who defined it, the collection
argues that such works reflected a female-centred literary subculture
defined by creative exchange and innovation, one that still shapes
perceptions of the Gothic mode today. This collection, then, presents
an alternative understanding of the legacy of women Gothic authors,
anchoring this understanding in complex historical and social contexts
and providing a new world of Gothic literature for readers to explore.
