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bri_lliantlybookishef669's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
ahomelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
What comes to mind when you think of the term Gothic?
For me, it’s literature + a certain fashion, then it’s architecture and art. “Gothic: An Illustrated History” contains over 200 pages packed with 350+ illustrations and thematic chapters that broadened by understanding of what Gothic can encompass.
Essentially, this book is comprised of several thematic chapters:
1) Architecture & Form: includes houses, buildings, art forms, ruins
2) The Lie of the Land: includes symbology of things like forests, wilderness, superstition, and the creepy/macabre
3) The Gothic Compass: contains a global look of gothic influences in every direction, includes references to media, art, form, etc across time
4) Monsters: contains info about influence of monsters in gothic canon, stuff like tentacle monsters, splices, and the formless monster
References that are included in these themes range from historic to modern. You’ll see the typical ideas of what is included in, say, a Wikipedia article about Gothic buildings, alongside something you may have never heard of before. One of the best chapters is The Gothic Compass, which shows influences from different regions of the world. The Asian subcategory was very interesting; I wouldn’t have been able to name anything about it, so I gained a lot of new cultural knowledge from that for sure.
The pictures / info balance is about 80% / 20%. It’s an illustrated history, so you get more pictures of course, but I will praise the text in being straightforward, informative, entertaining and interesting. There’s a lot packed in but not at the sake of educational value.
Ultimately, this is a great read and browse. It could serve as a springboard for digging more into a category you found particularly interesting. Since it’s attempting to be relatively comprehensive in its approach, it doesn’t dive super deep into everything, but you get a feeling of each theme appropriately before moving along.
It was published by @princetonupress in 2021 and was put together by Roger Luckhurst, a professor at Birkbeck, University of London. It currently has 4.34 stars rating on GR, just over 40 ratings. Needs more attention for sure.
For me, it’s literature + a certain fashion, then it’s architecture and art. “Gothic: An Illustrated History” contains over 200 pages packed with 350+ illustrations and thematic chapters that broadened by understanding of what Gothic can encompass.
Essentially, this book is comprised of several thematic chapters:
1) Architecture & Form: includes houses, buildings, art forms, ruins
2) The Lie of the Land: includes symbology of things like forests, wilderness, superstition, and the creepy/macabre
3) The Gothic Compass: contains a global look of gothic influences in every direction, includes references to media, art, form, etc across time
4) Monsters: contains info about influence of monsters in gothic canon, stuff like tentacle monsters, splices, and the formless monster
References that are included in these themes range from historic to modern. You’ll see the typical ideas of what is included in, say, a Wikipedia article about Gothic buildings, alongside something you may have never heard of before. One of the best chapters is The Gothic Compass, which shows influences from different regions of the world. The Asian subcategory was very interesting; I wouldn’t have been able to name anything about it, so I gained a lot of new cultural knowledge from that for sure.
The pictures / info balance is about 80% / 20%. It’s an illustrated history, so you get more pictures of course, but I will praise the text in being straightforward, informative, entertaining and interesting. There’s a lot packed in but not at the sake of educational value.
Ultimately, this is a great read and browse. It could serve as a springboard for digging more into a category you found particularly interesting. Since it’s attempting to be relatively comprehensive in its approach, it doesn’t dive super deep into everything, but you get a feeling of each theme appropriately before moving along.
It was published by @princetonupress in 2021 and was put together by Roger Luckhurst, a professor at Birkbeck, University of London. It currently has 4.34 stars rating on GR, just over 40 ratings. Needs more attention for sure.
foofers1622's review against another edition
5.0
This was an amazing book for any lover of all things gothic/horror.
lattelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
"[The forest wilderness] offends the eye by being so vast and ungovernable; it offends morality by being so unproductive; and it can be used interchangeably with 'wasteland', territory that is useless and unused."
With the twisting and turnings of all the ways gothic has transformed, from French architecture to tendrils and ghosts, Luckhurst has created a beautifully enchanting compendium filled with photographs, historical documents, and commentary across a variety of topics and cultures. Using examples such as Notre Dame, Bong Joon-ho's films, and Stephen King's novels, he weaves a history of the gothic to make it both accessible to new readers and appreciators of this genre and to those of us whose gothic sensibilities are tried and true.
Perfect for any bookshelf, perhaps pleasantly on display next to a piece of Tomb of Achlys taxidermy and your wisdom teeth.
With the twisting and turnings of all the ways gothic has transformed, from French architecture to tendrils and ghosts, Luckhurst has created a beautifully enchanting compendium filled with photographs, historical documents, and commentary across a variety of topics and cultures. Using examples such as Notre Dame, Bong Joon-ho's films, and Stephen King's novels, he weaves a history of the gothic to make it both accessible to new readers and appreciators of this genre and to those of us whose gothic sensibilities are tried and true.
Perfect for any bookshelf, perhaps pleasantly on display next to a piece of Tomb of Achlys taxidermy and your wisdom teeth.
misosoupcup's review against another edition
4.0
very nice coffee table book! i have been getting into some gothic stuff recently and this was such a comprehensive book on gothic architecture, art, media, and typical themes and tropes! also appreciate how this book de-centers the west and focuses on how the gothic can be found anywhere.