Literature

Using an acronym as the theme for the 8^th biennal conference in Aix en Provence meant to interrogate Gothic as a crossroads of territories first - a proper theme for a family reunion, that of scholars in gothic studies across the world. But the overlap between that acronym and the signifier "news" was predicated on the metaphorical paradigm of time : news from gothic studies here and there. Delegates from the 4 cardinal points exchanged views and news on a daily basis in a week-time conference.

The present volume - the first of the pair successively devoted to literature and cinema - only records samples of the large number of papers read during the conference, and notably the keynote lectures, about theoretical implications (Denis Mellier), the politics of superstition and the European Uncanny (Victor Sage) and the historical development of the vampiric theme and its new symbolic depth (Jerrold Hogle). Fields of investigation represented here concern "roots" of the 18^th century gothic genre ; the Victorian era provides insights into gothic travels and cartographies. The echoes of the 20th century encompass varied sallies into modern and postmodern literatures. Geographic focuses mostly include "news from America" from the frontier to Patrick McGrath as a newcomer, Scotland and Ireland, and France with Balzac and the adopted Marie Corelli.