Metamodern Gothic: Exploring Identity in the Twenty-First Century

By C. E. Smith

Analyzes classic and new motifs in contemporary Gothic literature.

This book illustrates how contemporary Gothic literature can be read through a metamodern lens and investigates the concept of multiplicity of truths and the way identity is represented in the twenty-first century. Citing traditional motifs found in the Gothic texts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Metamodern Gothic continues to expand the literary discussion into the current era, exploring how modern Gothic writers utilize the various aspects of the traditional format and revise them for contemporary audiences. By examining a range of twenty-first-century Gothic literature, the need for further metamodern readings in contemporary discussions of identity as it is represented in modern Gothic novels becomes apparent. This book contributes to both the understanding of metamodernism in terms of literary studies and the continued expansion of contemporary Gothic studies. It exclusively considers the Gothic novel of the modern era and its relevance to current cultural concerns.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1837723788
• ISBN13: 9781837723782
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: University of Wales Press
• Length: 272 Pages