Welsh Gothic

Drawing upon both Welsh- and English-language materials, Welsh Gothic explores the diverse ways in which Wales has been represented in Gothic literature from the late eighteenth century to the present day.

Welsh Gothic, the first study of its kind, introduces readers to the array of Welsh Gothic literature published from 1780 to the present day. Informed by postcolonial and psychoanalytic theory, it argues that many of the fears encoded in Welsh Gothic writing are specific to the history of Welsh people, telling us much about the changing ways in which Welsh people have historically seen themselves and been perceived by others. The first part of the book explores Welsh Gothic writing from its beginnings in the last decades of the eighteenth century to 1997. The second part focuses on figures specific to the Welsh Gothic genre who enter literature from folk lore and local superstition, such as the sin-eater, cŵn Annwn (hellhounds), dark druids and Welsh witches.

Contents

Prologue: ‘A Long Terror’
PART I: HAUNTED BY HISTORY
1. Cambria Gothica (1780s–1820s)
2. An Underworld of One’s Own (1830s–1900s).
3. Haunted Communities (1900s–1940s).
4. Land of the Living Dead (1940s–1997).
PART II: ‘THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE CELTIC TWILIGHT’
5. Witches, Druids and the Hounds of Annwn.
6. The Sin-eater
Epilogue: Post-devolution Gothic
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index

Part I. Haunted by History Chapter 1. Cambria Gothica (1780s-1820s) i. Romantic tourists in Gothic Wales ii. In the Devil's Parlour iii. Acts of Union iv. Gothic Histories Chapter 2. An Underworld of One's Own (1830s-1900s) i. The Doom of the Cymry ii. Embracing the Underworld iii. Arthur Machen's Underworld in the West Chapter 3. Haunted Communities (1900s-1940s) i. The Devil in Zion ii. Coalfield Gothic Chapter 4. Land of the Living Dead (1940s-1997) i. The Return of the Repressed ii. A Zombie Culture iii. Border Vampires Part II. 'Things that go bump in the Celtic Twilight' Chapter 5. Witches, Druids and the Hounds of Annwn i. The Witch as Wise Woman and Avenger ii. Druid Sacrifice iii. Hunting with Hellhounds Chapter 6. The Sin-eater i. The Historical Sin-eater ii. The Welsh Sin-eater in Literature Sin-eating beyond Wales