Introduction: "Gothic mania" : Gothic plays and American society, 1794-1830 -- "Gothic America" : dramas, theatres, and American society -- "An appetite for Gothic" : productions of Gothic plays by city, 1794-1830 -- "The senseless brawl of barbarians" : profane plays and patrons -- The "illustrious spirit" meets the "sanguinary monster" : characterization of males in Gothic plays -- "Angel-maids" and "withered flowers" : the Gothic heroine -- "An exquisite treat for feeling minds" : the Gothic female "stars" of Gothic plays -- "Dreadful thunder" and "lurid lightning" : spectacle in Gothic plays -- "What dreadful place is this?" : women and dangerous spaces -- "A plain unvarnish'd tale" : adaptations of British plays for the American stage -- "This sort of thing" : reception of Gothic plays in America -- A Gothic view of America.
Summary:
"This first full-length study of early American Gothic drama examines the relationship between Gothic plays and the developing society in which they flourished. It discusses topics ranging from the novelty of American artistic talent and critical opinions of Gothic melodramas to the representation of women in the dramas as compared with the reality of the contemporary female plight"--Provided by publisher.
