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Cajetan Tschink
Cajetan Tschink (22 April 1763 – 26 August 1813) was an Austrian writer, philosopher, and professor whose literary work primarily focused on skepticism of the supernatural. His most prominent work was the Gothic novel ''Geschichte eines Geistersehers. Aus den Papieren des Mannes mit der eisernen Larve'', translated into English by Peter Will as ''The Victim of Magical Delusion''. Biography Cajetan Tschink was born on 22 April 1763 in Vienna. He was of Hungarian background. Tschink joined the Carmelite Order in 1780, but left before receiving his ordination and in 1792 attended the University of Jena to study philosophy. Tschink's philosophical focus was the work of Immanuel Kant, and he held a position as professor of philosophy at the University in Olmütz (modern day Olomouc, Czech Republic) where he taught and wrote on logic, metaphysics, and practical philosophy. He stayed in this position until his death on 26 August 1813. Genre and style Tschink worked within the Go ...
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Gothic Fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of early Gothic novels. The first work to call itself Gothic was Horace Walpole's 1764 novel '' The Castle of Otranto'', later subtitled "A Gothic Story". Subsequent 18th century contributors included Clara Reeve, Ann Radcliffe, William Thomas Beckford, and Matthew Lewis. The Gothic influence continued into the early 19th century, works by the Romantic poets, and novelists such as Mary Shelley, Charles Maturin, Walter Scott and E. T. A. Hoffmann frequently drew upon gothic motifs in their works. The early Victorian period continued the use of gothic, in novels by Charles Dickens and the Brontë sisters, as well as works by the American writers Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Later prominent works were ''Dracula'' by ...
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Illuminati
The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 May 1776 in Bavaria, today part of Germany. The society's goals were to oppose superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life and abuses of state power. "The order of the day," they wrote in their general statutes, "is to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice, to control them without dominating them." The Illuminati—along with Freemasonry and other secret societies—were outlawed through edict by Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, with the encouragement of the Catholic Church, in 1784, 1785, 1787 and 1790. During subsequent years, the group was generally vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed that the Illuminati continued underground and were responsible for the French Re ...
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The Critical Review (newspaper)
''The Critical Review'' was a British publication appearing from 1756 to 1817. It was first edited by Tobias Smollett, from 1756 to 1763. Contributors included Samuel Johnson, David Hume, John Hunter, and Oliver Goldsmith. Early years The Edinburgh printer Archibald Hamilton started publishing ''The Critical Review'' in 1756 with Tobias Smollett as its first editor. The content was mainly book reviews, which were often long and favourable, with copious verbatim quotations. The Tory and High Church perspectives of contributors came through clearly, however. Besides Smollett, the writers of the first two volumes have been identified as John Armstrong, Samuel Derrick, Thomas Francklin, and Patrick Murdoch. After a libel against Admiral Sir Charles Knowles in the ''Review'', Smollett was sentenced to a fine of £100 and three months in King's Bench Prison. In 1763 he retired from the ''Review'', but left it as an influential publication. Sources External links Full textsa ...
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Monthly Review (London)
''The Monthly Review'' (1749–1845) was an English periodical founded by Ralph Griffiths, a Nonconformist bookseller. The first periodical in England to offer reviews, it featured the novelist and poet Oliver Goldsmith as an early contributor. Griffiths himself, and likely his wife Isabella Griffiths, contributed review articles to the periodical. Later contributors included Dr. Charles Burney, John Cleland, Theophilus Cibber Theophilus Cibber (25 or 26 November 1703 – October 1758) was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber. He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alex ..., James Grainger, Anna Letitia Barbauld, Elizabeth Moody, and Tobias Smollett—who would go on to establish the ''Monthly'''s competitor in 1756, '' The Critical Review''. William Kenrick, the "superlative scoundrel", was editor from 1759 to 1766. Publishing history of the ''Monthly Review'' *Volum ...
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Matthew Gregory Lewis
Matthew Gregory Lewis (9 July 1775 – 14 or 16 May 1818) was an English novelist and dramatist, whose writings are often classified as "Gothic horror". He was frequently referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic novel ''The Monk''. He also worked as a diplomat, politician and an estate owner in Jamaica. Biography Family Lewis was the first-born child of Matthew and Frances Maria Sewell Lewis. His father, Matthew Lewis, was the son of William Lewis and Jane Gregory and was born in England in 1750. He attended Westminster School before proceeding to Christ Church, Oxford, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1769 and his master's in 1772. During his time at Westminster, Lewis's parents separated, and he idolised his mother without disregarding his father. Mrs Lewis moved to France in this period; while there, she was in continuous correspondence with Matthew. The correspondence between Matthew and his mother consisted of discussion regarding t ...
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Horace Walpole
Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London, reviving the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors. His literary reputation rests on the first Gothic novel, '' The Castle of Otranto'' (1764), and his ''Letters'', which are of significant social and political interest. They have been published by Yale University Press in 48 volumes. In 2017, a volume of Walpole's selected letters was published. The youngest son of the first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, he became the 4th and last Earl of Orford of the second creation on his nephew's death in 1791. Early life: 1717–1739 Walpole was born in London, the youngest son of British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole and his wife Catherine. Like his father, he ...
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Charles Brockden Brown
Charles Brockden Brown (January 17, 1771 – February 22, 1810) was an American novelist, historian, and editor of the Early National period. He is generally regarded by scholars as the most important American novelist before James Fenimore Cooper. He is the most frequently studied and republished practitioner of the "early American novel," or the U.S. novel between 1789 and roughly 1820. Although Brown was not the first American novelist, as some early criticism claimed, the breadth and complexity of his achievement as a writer in multiple genres (novels, short stories, essays and periodical writings, poetry, historiography, and reviews) makes him a crucial figure in U.S. literature and culture of the 1790s, and the first decade of the 19th century. He has been referred to as the "Father of the American Novel." Brown was also a significant public intellectual in the wider Atlantic print culture and public sphere during the era of the French Revolution. Biography Early life ...
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Lives Of The Necromancers
''Lives of the necromancers or An account of the most eminent persons in successive ages who have claimed for themselves or to whom has been imputed by others the exercise of magical powers'' (1834) was the final book written by English journalist, political philosopher and novelist William Godwin. The book concerns paranormal legends from western and Middle Eastern history. In 1835 it was reviewed by Edgar Allan Poe of the ''Southern Literary Messenger''. Content The book begins with an introduction that explains the ways in which superstitions and other mythical beliefs could have originated during the Middle Ages, before the scientific revolution. The first chapter is entitled ''"Ambitious Nature of Man"'' and briefly explains many concepts including divination, chiromancy, interpretations of dreams, casting of lots, fairies, Rosicrucianism, oracles and necromancy. The second chapter gives examples of necromancy and witchcraft from the Bible, such as the Pharaoh's dream ...
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William Godwin
William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for two books that he published within the space of a year: '' An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice'', an attack on political institutions, and '' Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams'', an early mystery novel which attacks aristocratic privilege. Based on the success of both, Godwin featured prominently in the radical circles of London in the 1790s. He wrote prolifically in the genres of novels, history and demography throughout his life. In the conservative reaction to British radicalism, Godwin was attacked, in part because of his marriage to the feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797 and his candid biography of her after her death from childbirth. Their daughter, later known as Mary Shelley, would go on to ...
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Pepper's Ghost
Pepper's ghost is an illusion technique used in the theatre, cinema, amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts. It is named after the English scientist John Henry Pepper (1821–1900) who began popularising the effect with a theatre demonstration in 1862. This launched an international vogue for ghost-themed plays, which used this novel stage effect, during the 1860s and subsequent decades. The illusion is widely used for entertainment and publicity purposes. These include the Girl-to-Gorilla trick found in old carnival sideshows and the appearance of "ghosts" at the Haunted Mansion and the "Blue Fairy" in Pinocchio's Daring Journey, both at Disneyland in California. Teleprompters are a modern implementation of Pepper's ghost. The technique was used to display a life-size Illusion of Kate Moss at the 2006 runway show for the Alexander McQueen collection '' The Widows of Culloden.'' In the 2010s the technique has been used to make virtual artists appear onstage ...
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Horrid Mysteries
''The Horrid Mysteries'', subtitled "A Story From the German Of The Marquis Of Grosse" is a translation by Peter Will of the German Gothic novel ''Der Genius'' by Carl Grosse. It was listed as one of the seven "horrid novels" by Jane Austen in her '' Northanger Abbey'' and also mentioned by Thomas Love Peacock in ''Nightmare Abbey''. It was first published by the sensationalist Minerva Press in 1796. A later, two-volume edition published by Robert Holden and Co., Ltd. in 1927 includes a new introductory essay by Montague Summers. The books were bound in pictorial boards, and feature a period-style "advertisement" for Pears' Soap on the rear cover. The hero of the tale, the Marquis of Grosse, finds himself embroiled in a secret revolutionary society which advocates murder and mayhem in pursuit of an early form of communism. He creates a rival society to combat them and finds himself hopelessly trapped between the two antagonistic forces. The book has been both praised and ...
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