October Reading List

Delving into Gothic literature

As befits the month of October, I am delving into the world of Gothic fiction, old and new. On my reading list is The Secret History of Jane Eyre: How Charlotte Bronte Wrote Her Masterpiece, by John Pfordresher (2017: W. W. Norton & Company) and Benang, by Australian author Kim Scott (1999: Fremantle Arts Centre Press).

Charlotte Bronte is best known for her novel Jane Eyre, originally published in 1847 under her pseudonym of Currer Bell. It created a stir in the months after its publication, with the public speculating on the identity of the author. Who could have written such a compelling story, full of both passion and wisdom? Was the author young or old? Was it even a man? Bronte guarded her secret authorship for several years. Pfordresher examines the reasons why in his minutely researched book.

Growing up in the wild Yorkshire moors, Bronte (as were her sisters) was the quintessential Gothic writer. Jane Eyre explores themes of madness and moral crisis and contains plenty of psychological intensity within Rochester’s haunted estate. Gothic literature grew out of the Romantic movement of the 18th century and was a popular genre throughout the 19th century as societies grappled with the changes wrought by the Industrial revolution.

The genre has evolved throughout the 20th and 21st century and there are Australian writers whose work can be described as Australian Gothic. Instead of crumbling castles and decaying estates providing a claustrophobic atmosphere, it is the landscape (seemingly infinitely wide and agoraphobic) creates an atmosphere of unease. This is a genre that I have read a bit of recently and I am looking forward to Scott’s novel Benang. Scott won the Miles Franklin Literary Award for Benang (Australia’s highest literary prize).

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