SEMINAR PROFILE

H31 -
Gothic Short Stories and Rare Books at the Boston Athenaeum

Come experience the gothic-a supernatural realm of haunted houses and haunted psyches-by experiencing rare books at the Boston Athenaeum. We will read and discuss an exciting selection of gothic short stories, focusing on a comparison of British and American writers such as Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Washington Irving, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. We will also hold hands-on workshops in the Boston Athenaeum's Special Collections Reading Room, examining early editions and investigating how the gothic was "packaged" for its original readers. How is the fantastic world of the gothic pictured in book illustrations? How do "unreal" stories become "real" through the size and shape of a book? As we trace the roots of our own culture's interest in the gothic, we will explore how and why the gothic became a popular literary obsession.

Scholar:

Cheryl Nixon

Location:

Harvard Hillel

Dates:

4/29/2009, 5/13/2009

H31 -	Gothic Short Stories and Rare Books at the Boston Athenaeum

	Come experience the gothic-a supernatural realm of haunted houses and haunted psyches-by experiencing rare books at the Boston Athenaeum. We will read and discuss an exciting selection of gothic short stories, focusing on a comparison of British and American writers such as Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Washington Irving, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. We will also hold hands-on workshops in the Boston Athenaeum's Special Collections Reading Room, examining early editions and investigating how the gothic was "packaged" for its original readers. How is the fantastic world of the gothic pictured in book illustrations? How do "unreal" stories become "real" through the size and shape of a book? As we trace the roots of our own culture's interest in the gothic, we will explore how and why the gothic became a popular literary obsession.

		Scholar:	Cheryl Nixon
		Location:	Harvard Hillel
		Dates:	4/29/2009, 5/13/2009