‘ON the north-east coast of Scotland, in the most romantic part of the Highlands, stood the Castle of Athlin; an edifice built on the summit of a rock whose base was in the sea. This pile was venerable from its antiquity, and from its Gothic structure; but more venerable from the virtues which it enclosed.’It … Continue reading Considering The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne
Tag: Sublime
Gothic Bible: The Theo-Aesthetics of the Early British Gothic
The following post by Holly Hirst is part of an ongoing 'Gothic Bible Blog Series' and part of the Gothic Bible project, a collaborative project run by Sheffield Gothic and SIIBS at the University of Sheffield, and also the University of Auckland. You can find out more about the project here, and if you want … Continue reading Gothic Bible: The Theo-Aesthetics of the Early British Gothic
The Italian Job: rereading Ann Radcliffe’s ‘The Italian’
Last week’s Gothic Reading Group centred one of Sheffield Gothic’s favourite topic of conversation: Ann Radcliffe. In particular, her last novel The Italian (Okay, yes, it’s technically not her last novel. But let’s not get into Gaston de Blondeville right now, alright?). Our usual starter question- ‘But is it Gothic?’ – hardly seemed relevant, so … Continue reading The Italian Job: rereading Ann Radcliffe’s ‘The Italian’
Forshadowings: ‘No Place for a Nunnery’: the Powell and Pressburger’s Sublime "Black Narcissus"
On asking my tutorial group ‘what makes Wuthering Heights a Gothic novel’, I rediscovered just how much the popular conception of the Gothic is rooted in aesthetics. Ghosts were mentioned, someone touched on morality – but the dead giveaway, the ultimate indicator of Gothicness, was the setting. As a Gothic scholar, and one who is … Continue reading Forshadowings: ‘No Place for a Nunnery’: the Powell and Pressburger’s Sublime "Black Narcissus"
Sheffield Gothic 