Author Archives: SamHirst

If you’re a literature lover, the name of William Godwin might be less than familiar that that of his relations. He was the father of Mary Shelley, the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft and an inspiration for Percy Shelley among others. He was a political philosopher, whose work continues to be read and studied today butContinue reading “Re-thinking the Paranoid Gothic – Queer Reading of William Godwin”

Originally posted on Where We Will We'll Roam:
On the 22nd of January (I know I’m slightly late, but oh well), I attended one of the Romancing the Gothic seminars. Romancing the Gothic is a series of talks organised by Dr Sam Hirst. Each week, different academics talk about various aspects of Gothic Literature. These talks…

Last week, we were joined by Stiofáin Jack of Hog and Dice to talk to us about death in Irish culture and folklore. They talk fairies, burial mounds, folklore, death customs, and more! You can find more about their work here. You can watch the video here

I’m trying a new thing! Each week, we have a lecture, so I’ll be updating each week with a blog that gives you the link to this week’s class in case you miss it. Tell me what you think of the idea of the comments. This week we were joined, once again, by Icy SedgwickContinue reading “A Tour of English Corpse Roads with Icy Sedgwick”

This year’s Romancing the Gothic conference celebrates the ‘birth’ of Carmilla, one of the most enduring vampiric figures, re-written an re-imagined over the years in fiction, film, web-series, podcasts, animated series and RPGs. This conference focuses on and celebrates Carmilla and its legacy, particularly the sapphic reclamation and queer celebration of its main character. ThisContinue reading “RtG’s Second Conference – My Wild Heart Bleeds: 150 years of Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla”

This week’s class is all about ‘Paintings, Mirrors and Monstrous Doubles in the Irish Gothic‘. This week’s class is on 22nd January at 10am and/or 7pm. You can sign up here (10am) or here (7pm). In honour of the talk, I thought I’d share some of my favourite covers of one of the Irish Gothic’sContinue reading “The sense of his own beauty came on him like a revelation”

This weekend, we’re having our first class of the new year. I’ll be taking us through some of the Gothic inspirations of Northanger Abbey. Want to come along? Sign up for free for the 10am or 7pm talk on Saturday 8th January. I’ll be going through all the Northanger Horrid novels. The two tv andContinue reading “Beyond the Black Veil: The Horrid Mysteries Inspiring Northanger Abbey”

Has 2021 lasted as long as eternity? It feels like it might have. It feels like there are at least a few oceans of time between now and January but perhaps that’s also because there’s been so much going on here at Romancing the Gothic! In book group, we’ve read 18 novels, 3 graphic novels,Continue reading “2021 Romancing the Gothic Round-Up”

Romancing the Gothic will continue in 2022 with some changes. We will be changing from 8 talks a month to 4. Each month will have a broad theme. We will also have 4 Days of Creation in the year rather than one a month. All the talks will continue to be held online and runContinue reading “CFP (Call for contributions) for Romancing the Gothic’s 2022 programme”