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Unitarian authors are disproportionately represented in the tradition of gothic literature. This anthology includes some of the best of work of those authors, alongside a critical introduction explaining their links to Unitarian Theology. Some might be surprised to learn that Unitarianism, closely associated with the Enlightenment and its positive valuation of reason and human nature, also has such a large claim to the dark, clammy dungeons of the gothic. Each of the authors explored here wrote from within the “Unitarian poetics” associated with the Rev. Joseph Priestley (1733-1804). This poetics prized the gothic as a particularly powerful expression of the imagination’s ability to allow the reader to experience the sublime. Collectively, these tales form a narrative of enchantment, promoting the continuing engagement of reason with deep religion, matter with spirit, head with heart, and optimism with the reality of sin and evil.
Order this exciting book, Dark and Stormy: Unitarian Theology in Gothic and Ghostly Literature: 1789-1912 including a critical introduction and sixteen historic pieces of short gothic fiction by Unitarian authors by clicking here.
