Roger Luckhurst Livres

Comment Vlad III, prince de Valachie, dont le goût immodéré pour le supplice du pal lui avait valu le sobriquet de "Tepes" (l'empaleur), est-il devenu, sous la plume de Bram STOKER, le comte Dracula ? Comment un seigneur de la guerre mort au combat, en 1476, contre les Turcs est-il devenu un "non-vivant", se nourrissant du sang de ses victimes ? Comment, enfin, le folklore du vampire s'est-il nourri des chroniques historiques ? Mystérieuse alchimie qui fit l'universel succès du roman de STOKER. Par lui, la légende, reprise à la scène et, surtout, à l'écran, est devenue mythe et a donné naissance à la saga du Prince des ténèbres.

Crumbling ruins, undead fiends, dark alleys and forests teeming with horrors seen and unseen: the tendrils of the Gothic have crept out of the architecture of churches, mosques and grand houses and into suburban malls, overcrowded cities, the deserted corners of the world and beyond, taking the shape of monsters from Beowulf to Gojira, Cthulhu or the wendigo to our own terrifying, warped reflections. Across time, form and media, this book traces the weaving path of the Gothic from the shadows of history to the very heart of popular culture today. With over 350 illustrations

A quirky history that offers a new way of understanding the myth of the mummy's curse. Roger Luckhurst provides a startling path through the cultural history of Victorian England and its colonial possessions.

This book explores the interconnected fields of cultural memory and trauma studies, delving into how collective memories shape identities and influence societal narratives. It examines the impact of trauma on communities and individuals, offering insights into the ways memories are preserved, transformed, and communicated across generations. Through a multidisciplinary approach, it addresses the implications of cultural memory in understanding historical events and their lasting effects on society.

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a reclusive scribbler of horror stories for the American pulp magazines that specialized in Gothic and science fiction in the interwar years. He often published in Weird Tales and has since become the key figure in the slippery genre of "weird fiction." Lovecraft developed an extraordinary vision of feeble men driven to the edge of sanity by glimpses of malign beings that have survived from human prehistory or by malevolent extra-terrestrial visitations. The ornate language of his stories builds towards grotesque moments of revelation, quite unlike any other writer. This new selection brings together nine of his classic tales, focusing on the "Cthulhu Mythos," a cycle of stories that develops the mythology of the Old Ones, the monstrous creatures who predate human life on earth. It includes the Introduction from Lovecraft's critical essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature," in which he gave his own important definition of "weird fiction." In a fascinating contextual introduction, Roger Luckhurst gives Lovecraft the attention he deserves as a writer who used pulp fiction to explore a remarkable philosophy that shockingly dethrones the mastery of man.

Petit, difforme, velu, un monstre erre dans l'atmosphère trouble des rues de Londres. Le vent souffle, l'éclat rouge des réverbères perce à peine le brouillard... Paisiblement installé dans son bureau, devant le feu qui crépite, un respectable savant voit avec épouvante sa belle main se dessécher, se couvrir de poils... Une histoire à faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête du lecteur même le plus enclin à se dédoubler.

Stanley Kubrick hailed The Shining as 'the scariest horror film of all time' before its release in 1980.

Exploring the interplay of memory and history in 1990s literature, this collection of twelve essays offers a critical analysis from feminist, postcolonial, and queer perspectives. It delves into themes such as the politics of memory, colonial legacies, and identities shaped by race and gender. Notable works discussed include Graham Swift's Last Orders and Anne Michaels' Fugitive Pieces. The essays advocate for a nuanced critique of postmodernist approaches, emphasizing the importance of diverse interpretations in understanding contemporary literature.

Alien, that legendary fusion of science fiction and horror, was born out of a terrible monster movie script called Star Beast. Tracing the constellation of talents that came together to produce the film, this book explores how and why this interstellar slasher movie, this old dark house in space, came to coil itself around our darkest imaginings.

Add a gurgling moan with the sound of dragging feet and a smell of decay and what do you get? Better not find out. The zombie has roamed with dead-eyed menace from its beginnings in obscure folklore and superstition to global status today, the star of films such as 28 Days Later, World War Z, and the outrageously successful comic book, TV series, and video game—The Walking Dead. In this brain-gripping history, Roger Luckhurst traces the permutations of the zombie through our culture and imaginations, examining the undead’s ability to remain defiantly alive. Luckhurst follows a trail that leads from the nineteenth-century Caribbean, through American pulp fiction of the 1920s, to the middle of the twentieth century, when zombies swarmed comic books and movie screens. From there he follows the zombie around the world, tracing the vectors of its infectious global spread from France to Australia, Brazil to Japan. Stitching together materials from anthropology, folklore, travel writings, colonial histories, popular literature and cinema, medical history, and cultural theory, Zombies is the definitive short introduction to these restless pulp monsters.