Average customer rating:
- A gem!
- Light, clear, and understandable.
- Incredibly good!
- An educational tool for Clifford algebras
- A pedagogical gem.
|
Clifford Algebra: A Computational Tool for Physicists
John Snygg
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Theology
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Linear
| Algebra
| Pure Mathematics
| Mathematics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Applied
| Mathematics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mathematics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Mathematical Physics
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Applied
| Mathematics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Physics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Mathematical Physics
| Physics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
jp-unknown1
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Religion & Spirituality
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
New Foundations for Classical Mechanics (Fundamental Theories of Physics)
-
Clifford Algebra to Geometric Calculus: A Unified Language for Mathematics and Physics (Fundamental Theories of Physics)
-
Geometric Algebra for Physicists
-
Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Some of Their Applications
ASIN: 0195098242 |
Book Description
Clifford algebras have become an indispensable tool for physicists at the cutting edge of theoretical investigations. Applications in physics range from special relativity and the rotating top at one end of the spectrum, to general relativity and Dirac's equation for the electron at the other. Clifford algebras have also become a virtual necessity in some areas of physics, and their usefulness is expanding in other areas, such as algebraic manipulations involving Dirac matrices in quantum thermodynamics; Kaluza-Klein theories and dimensional renormalization theories; and the formation of superstring theories. This book, aimed at beginning graduate students in physics and math, introduces readers to the techniques of Clifford algebras.
Customer Reviews:
A gem!.......2001-05-09
I would rate this book as a gem! To calibrate that let me say that I think Weinreich's Geometrical Vectors and Foster and Nightingale's General Relativity are gems. Chapter 1 gives a beautiful, clear and concise introduction to Clifford Algebra in flat 3-space using Dirac's anti-commuting gamma matrices. If you have ever wondered about off-hand comments that rotations are double reflections and why half angles enter into this business this is the place to get enlightened. In an amusing series of photographs the author illustrates the 4-pi periodicity of certain objects. The object here is a copy of MTW's Gravitation - one of the more imaginative uses of this tome. As an example of the application of the CA results the chapter ends with a treatment of the spinning top without using Euler's equations for rigid body motion. If you have ever struggled through Goldstein's Classical Mechanics treatment of this problem, from Euler angles to infinitessimal rotations to d-Omega which is not a differential of a vector to dyadics to body diferentials and space differentials to Euler's equations, you will really appreciate Snygg's direct solution using CA. Sure, I know Goldstein's has to be a general treatment of solid body motion and thus more complex so he can treat more general problems, but it is good to find a more direct solution that is cristal clear and only a few pages long. This chapter is real little gem. Chapter 2 takes CA to Minkowsky 4-space rotations. Chapters 3 and 4 take you to flat n-dimensional spaces and curved subspaces embedded in them. Again beautiful explanations are presented of the meaning of tangent spaces, parallel transport and how the covariant derivative arises naturally in curved spaces. I had the silly hope that with Clifford numbers and their products all would be well and done. Unfortunately the exterior product wedges its nose under the tent flap and pretty soon the exterior derivative and its side-kick the co-differential operator soon follow it into the tent. All this is explained in Chapter 7. With Chapter 5 the learning curve steepens with the introduction of Fock-Ivanenko 2-vectors and the curvature 2-vector (or 2-form) and finally the curvature tensor. Chapter 6 solves the field equations for the Schwartzchild metric based on the F-I 2-vector approach. Chapter 8 on the Dirac equation is again an approach different than that found in the usual texts. Chapter 9 derives the Kerr metric, something you won't find in MTW published 8 to 10 years after Kerr's papers. Unfortunately the starting point is some obscure problem from an earlier chapter and Snygg does not provide the delightful physical insight of earlier examples. However, there is discussion at the of the chapter. While you might be able to solve the field equations for the Schartzchild metric on your own, once you know it can be done, I certainly would not be able to do so for the Kerr metric. Snygg takes you through step by step, none of them particularly difficult, but the sequence is certainly not something I would have found by myself. Chapter 10 I only skimmed, the index notation, with underscored and bracketed indices, becomes overloaded for my level of sophistication. Chapter 11 organizes all the matrix stuff together, again a beautiful, straightforward and clear presentation. Here is shown how to construct a matrix representation for the gammas. As you might expect, the book is a veritable beehive of sub- and superscripts over bars and carets Greek and Latin indices and full of gamma gymnastics. Even Pauli's less complementary comment on Dirac algebra comes to mind. The text has a few typos but blessedly few in the Clifford number and gamma indices. By the way, if you expect to find out how to do trace computations on gamma expressions you won't find it here. The explicit form of the gamma matrices is hardly ever mentioned until chapter 11 nor is it needed in the present context.
Light, clear, and understandable........2000-08-06
Snygg's book is a thoroughly delightful introduction to Clifford Algebra and its applications in physics. It is detailed, readable, and at times even humorous... but always clear and educational. Snygg presents Clifford Algebra above all as a practical tool, rather than as the ultimate algebraic representation of spatial geometry. This gives a refreshing alternative to Hestenes' writings which, although quite good, can at times be philosophically pedantic and difficult to connect with standard theory.
Incredibly good!.......1998-02-14
From a letter to the author. John, I have to write you to tell you what a wonderful book you wrote. I still can't believe how good it is. Yesterday I was waiting for a television show to begin in ten minutes and I picked your book up while I sat front of the TV set. When I finally looked up 45 minutes later, I had missed the show! In 35 years as an algebraic topologist, I have tried to learn various things about Clifford algebras because of their role in K-theory and in the Atiyah- Singer Index theorem, and more recently because of the Seiberg-Witten equations. With only mediocre intensity, mostly browsing, I have had little success. In the month since I met you and bought your book, I have browsed through it while occupied with several other competing projects. In the process I have internalized the classification of Clifford algebras, learned how physicists use Dirac's equation, what they are doing when they talk about gauge theory, understood Hodge duality much better and so the codifferential operator. And I still have only browsed through a small portion of the text. I think we mathematicians should study your book to learn how to improve our own levels of exposition. Sincerely, Daniel Henry Gottlieb
An educational tool for Clifford algebras.......1997-09-29
The author writes in the Introduction: "Much of Clifford algebra is quite simple. If this fact were generally recognized, Clifford algebra would be more widely used as a computational tool." However, a few applications discussed in the book may require some physics usually covered in the first year of graduate school.
The author starts by Clifford algebras of the 3-dimensional Euclidean space and the 4-dimensional Minkowski space-time. He discusses the Maxwell equations in flat space, the Dirac equation for the electron, the Dirac operator, spherical harmonics, and curved space-times with Schwarzschild and Kerr metrics. The book ends with matrix representation and classification of Clifford algebras of real non-degenerate quadratic spaces and an appendix on Lorentz transformations.
A pedagogical gem........1996-10-11
The author is my brother. You may doubt the credibility of
my commentary, but check it out for yourself. Based on an
early draft, I predict it will be a pedagogical gem. Style
and content make anything John Snygg writes a pleasure to
read. Snygg is a hidden treasure.
As of October 1996, "Clifford Algebra: A Computational Tool
for Physicists" was not out.
Average customer rating:
- Early Gothic Novels by Walpole, Beckford, and Polidori
- Gothick Terror, Oriental Decadence, Romantic Vampyres...
- A great primer for those interested in early Gothic fiction
|
Three Gothic Novels: The Castle of Otranto; Vathek; Frankenstein (English Library)
Horace Walpole ,
William Beckford , and
Mary Shelley
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Anthologies
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Beckford, William
| ( B )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Walpole, Horace
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
British
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
19th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Gothic Revival
| Movements & Periods
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Mysteries of Udolpho (Penguin Classics)
-
The Monk (Oxford World's Classics)
-
The Monk (Dover Thrift Editions)
-
The Italian (Penguin Classics)
-
The Monk (Penguin Classics)
ASIN: 0140430369 |
Customer Reviews:
Early Gothic Novels by Walpole, Beckford, and Polidori.......2004-03-20
I was new to the Gothic genre when I first encountered this Dover publication some years ago. At that time I considered the plot for The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole to be farfetched, almost ludicrous. The mystical Oriental tale, Vathek (1782), by William Beckford seemed endless. Only the short story titled The Vampyre (1819, by John Polidori) met my expectations.
My opinion today is quite different. I have gradually become familiar with Gothic literature, and I now appreciate just how innovative these three stories were, and to how great an extent these tales influenced later writers. I give four stars to this collection.
The eighteenth century was clearly a period of philosophical and scientific progress. And yet, many readers were immediately intrigued and entertained by the supernatural, bizarre elements in The Castle of Otranto. Hundreds of authors subsequently imitated Walpole's Gothic style. Although many of these later stories had little literary merit, the Gothic novel remained immensely popular for the following century.
Today, it is true that the supernatural aspects in The Castle of Otranto may be overworked, the dialogue is often stilted, and the plot relies too much on coincidences. Nonetheless, The Castle of Otranto remains quite entertaining and suspenseful. The lengthy introduction by Sir Walter Scott (included in the 1811 edition) illustrates the remarkable impact of "this new species of literary composition".
William Beckford's Vathek is so original that it hardly fits even the Gothic genre. Beckford, a noted scholar of early Arabian literature, provided more than fifty pages of explanatory end notes. For some reason he first published Vathek in French. Later it was translated and published in English without his approval. I still find Vathek to be overly long, but this time I was intrigued with its mystical Arabian Nights motif, its chilling characters, and its vivid portrayal of evil.
In an introduction to The Vampyre the author John Polidori claimed (possibly to increase sales) that Lord Byron had created the plot at the same literary soiree in Geneva in which Mary Shelley produced Frankenstein. Lord Byron disputed Polidori's claim and produced his own notes from that famous gathering. Regardless, The Vampyre is fascinating short story.
E. F. Bleiler edited this collection and provided a lengthy, interesting introduction to three authors that were instrumental in developing the Gothic novel.
Gothick Terror, Oriental Decadence, Romantic Vampyres..........2002-05-09
This volume is an excellent introduction to four
works of the Gothic mindset, which hit England at
the end of the 1700s and lasted on into the early
Romantic period, all the way up to the late decadence
of the 1890s, winding up in Robert Louis Stevenson's
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1886),
Oscar Wilde's THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1891), and
Bram Stoker's DRACULA (1897).
These are four of the earliest of this Gothic genre.
The volume includes Horace Walpole's THE CASTLE OF
OTRANTO (Christmas Eve, 1764); William Beckford's
VATHEK (1786); John Polidori's VAMPYRE (1819); and
a Vampire Fragment by Lord Byron (1819), "which was
published at the end of MAZEPPA in 1819."
The list of Gothic NOVELS (rather than stories)
in chronological order which make the grade are:
Horace Walpole's CASTLE OF OTRANTO (1764), Clara
Reeve's THE CHAMPION OF VIRTUE (1777), William
Beckford's VATHEK (1786), Ann Radcliffe's THE
MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO (1794), Matthew Gregory Lewis's
THE MONK (1795), Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN (1818),
John Polidori's VAMPYRE (1819), Charles R. Maturin's
MELMOTH THE WANDERER (1820).
There are excellent introductions to each of the
writers and their works at the beginning of the book.
In speaking of THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO, Bleiler says:
"This novel has been called one of the half-dozen
historically most important novels in English. The
founder of a school of fiction, the so-called Gothic
novel, it served as the direct model for an enormous
quantity of novels written up through the first
quarter of the 19th century.... It was probably
the most important source for enthusiasm for the
Middle Ages that suddenly swept Europe in the later
18th century, and many of the trappings of the early
19th century Romantic movement have been traced to
it. It embodied the spirit of an age."
There is included a series of impressive "Notes"
to the novel VATHEK: An Arabian Tale. The novel
begins in an interesting fashion: "Vathek, ninth
caliph of the race of the Abassides, was the son
of Motassem, and the grandson of Haroun al Raschid.
From an early accession to the throne, and the talents
he possessed to adorn it, his subjects were induced to
expect that his reign would be long and happy. His
figure was pleasing and majestic: but when he was
angry, one of his eyes became so terrible, that no
person could bear to behold it; and the wretch upon
whom it was fixed instantly fell backward, and
sometimes expired. For fear, however, of depopulating
his dominions and making his palace desolate, he but
rarely gave way to his anger."
And here is a sample bite from John Polidori's
VAMPYRE: "There was no colour upon her cheek, not
even upon her lip; yet there was a stillness about
her face that seemed almost as attaching as the life
that once dwelt there: --upon her neck and breast
was blood, and upon her throat were the marks of teeth
having opened the vein: -- to this the men pointed,
crying, simultaneously struck with horror, "A
Vampyre! a Vampyre!"
A great primer for those interested in early Gothic fiction.......2000-06-21
This is a fabulous collection representing the beginning of Gothic fiction. Otronto is the very first such work, and is a perfect illustration of the basic themes and plotlines predominant in Gothic. Although not the most polished work of fiction, it's often so bad it's funny, and definitely worth reading. The other stories are much more professional, albeit a bit drier reading. I'm especially fond of Vathek, as it more clearly represents fear fiction as it was to become. Dr. Polidori's piece is particularly intersting as he was a physician and present at the famous ghost-story-telling session(s) of Byron and the Shelley couple.
On the whole, this collection is the ideal glimpse into the genre at its rudimentary level.
Book Description
Witches, demons, human sacrifices and other spectral horrors: all intercept Vathek as he journeys to the underworld in this weird and wonderful gothic masterpiece.
This classic of 18th century Gothic literature, was highly acclaimed by such eminent writers as Byron and H P Lovecraft and remains the most extreme example of this genre.
Originally composed in French, Vathek was translated into English in 1816, and it is this version which is now presented as part of the popular Creation Classics series. The book includes lithographs by the symbolist artist Odilon Redon, complementing the bizarre text and making this the most completely decadent edition available in print. An introduction by Jeremy Reed illuminates both the text and the eccentric life of William Beckford, a youthful millionaire who spent his fortunes on building the ultimate Gothic folly, where he indulged in such homosexual indiscretions that he was finally exiled from England.
Customer Reviews:
Beckford's Soulscape?.......2007-03-07
The tale of Vathek is undeniably a wonderful oriental fable, where enlightenment ethics are presented and critiqued. If read in conjunction with Samuel Johnson "Rasselas", Montesquieu's Persian Letters and "Arabian Nights" one may be able to better understand the landscape upon which orientalism (a term used by Beckford himself to illuminate the period's infatuation with the orient, not to be confused with Said's) and enlightenment values where divulged. Beckford's tale however speaks of a more prescient sphere where the author's inner struggles and thwarted tragic desultoriness devolves. As with all literature this compact gem stands on her own; however many have tried to extract a moral import and some have even described a mystique of knowledge and a system of ethics with undue fastidiousness. In a more likely scenario we have a wonton fable whimsical and indulgent, crafted as a parody of "orientalism". Knowledge of Beckford's life may serve the reader well but should not hinder her enjoyment. The author's disquietude trumps an increasing distance from the absurd drive and hedonistic tendencies of the protagonist, while we feel a sympathetic kinship laxed the more into the novella we proceed. The author wrote this fable in French and supervised the translation as best he could. The grotesque and the sublime are here married insolubly but tend to find a balance suspended over a void that derides and insinuates the emptiness of a spiritual fantasy in turmoil.
The ending paragraphs are singed with a sad glow that seems to recriminate as much as it moralizes: much like a father that punishes a child only to feel remorse over the fact that his own blood cannot enjoy what is most enjoyable. He is not convinced and Beckford created a wonderful fable where much is exposed, but the simplicity, the arrogance and the conviction are to be regaled with the same comic grotesque sprightliness with which he infuses his narrative.
A quick fun read that demands little of us, but in degrees can disclose a sensibility we may be dismissive of if we are to package it as a tale where orientalism meets enlightenment values.
Time very well spent.......2006-07-15
Vathek was Caliph in the area of approximately present-day Iraq, at some unknown time in the past. He was generally a fair person, but woe unto him who got Vathek angry. He lived in an immense castle, with the absolute finest of everything. One day, a very strange, and very ugly, man stood before his throne. He had a hideous laugh, but didn't speak. He showed Vathek all manner of rare and exotic items, including sabers inscribed in an unknown language, inscriptions which kept changing from day to day. The stranger was thrown in prison for his unwillingness to speak. The next morning, finding the stranger gone, Vathek totally blows his top.
Finding himself outside the castle, at the foot of the nearby mountains, Vathek hears a voice coming out of a huge crevasse. It is the stranger, called a giaour, who promises Vathek all the powers of heaven in exchange for the blood of fifty young boys. Vathek provides the boys, through the guise of a sporting competition, then the giaour reneges on its part of the deal. When the people, especially the parents, understand what's happened, Vathek has to get back to the castle and lock the doors, until the anger subsides.
Later, Vathek commands the creation of a great caravan to a place called Rocnabad, home of famous springs. For various reasons, he needs to get away from the castle for a while. This is going to be the biggest, and grandest, caravan ever. On the journey, the caravan is attacked by wild animals, with a number of casualties. Vathek, his wives and senior advisers, can no longer be carried the rest of the way, because of lack of personnel, but actually have to walk to Rocnabad.
At Rocnabad, there is a castle as big or bigger than the one that Vathek left behind. He meets a young woman named Nouronihar, who he wants as one of his wives (as Caliph, what Vathek wants, Vathek gets). She is promised to a man named Gulchenrouz. The lovers drink a potion that will make them look dead for several days, then, the idea is that they go and live somewhere else, away from Vathek.
This is one of the very few novels set in the world of the Arabian Nights, a world of eunuchs, slaves and harem girls. It was first published over 200 years ago (in the 1780s), so the style of writing is very different than what is normal for a modern reader. Therefore, it will take some patience on the part of the reader. If you can find a copy, it is time, and money, very well spent.
HOW COME YOU DO SO MUCH WRONG VATHEK?.......2002-04-30
Vathek is another work in an endless series with the Faust myth as its backbone. Except here, instead of being set in Germany, the setting is the ancient middle east in which genies and devils inhabit the land.
Vathek is a caliph who is loved but also feared by his people. In fact, if he really loses his temper, just the sight of his gaze can cause death. His court makes The Satyricon look like a sunday school with its voluptuousness and excess. There are even five wings of his palace, with each one dedicated to a sense with names such as "The Delight of the Eyes" and "The Palace of Perfumes". Oh, the decadence! Of course someone as attached to physical gratification as Vathek is sure to stomp on the moral and religious boundaries of Allah and get in trouble.
Much like God and Yahweh in the Book of Job, Allah allows Vathek to be tempted and tried by demons as a bizarre test of his faith. Actually, maybe in both cases it was a test of God's faith in man. The faith that man will do the right thing in the end. That he will turn away from evil. That he will have an epiphany which will redeem him. Vathek isn't so lucky.
An evil being in the disguise of a man, called the Gaiour, comes to Vathek's court with all sorts of magical artifacts which seem to give their bearer otherworldy powers. Vathek becomes entranced by the thought of having powers over spirits and other men and begins to follow a direct line to eternal hell. In order to court evil spirits, Vathek becomes a mass murderer, a blasphemer, a betrayer, a killer of his own people. He is helped in this by his mother, Carathis, who hasn't even heard the word goodness. She constructs a tower much like the Tower of Babel, in order to reach to the gods and to serve as storage for her arcane items.
The book, much like Dante's Inferno, becomes a little much at times. I mean, how many deeds of evil can we experience before we go, "ok, he's going to Hell now!" Sometimes you sense that some of this is intentional and tongue in cheek. At other times, you're horrified at the evil that most of the characters do. Any characters that are good are trampled upon by the evil. The last couple of pages are truly disturbing. I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone that keeps an open mind about fantasy or who is interested in the question of how much knowledge is too much knowledge.
An exotic dark fantasy.......2002-01-15
Leaving aside the question of whether this book is a 'gothic' novel or not, it is a dark fantasy. It shares with its more conventionally gothic brethren a tale of dark deeds in an exotic setting, where an alien and exciting religion is practised.
In the standard Gothic tale, allusions to Roman Catholicism, thought of by respectable Englishmen as a dark, oppressive, and half-pagan faith, were part of the conventional apparatus. Beckford chose instead to imagine the world of Islam, an even more exotic milieu that added some flashes of bright colours to the dark and sorcerous background of his book. His choice of an even more exotic setting allowed him greater freedom in portraying characters who defied social convention and fell into exotic habits of mind.
My understanding is that it is a matter of some debate to what extent the English text of -Vathek- is a translation from the French, or an original English composition. I do not have the French text in front of me, but it has been represented to me that Beckford's "original" French is rather like the French of Oscar Wilde's -Salome-, and needed extensive editing to be acceptable to a French readership.
At any rate, -Vathek- is a prime example of early dark fantasy. The description, of course, will be richer than you are used to, but Beckford's prose actually seems to move quite quickly. Fans of H. P. Lovecraft or Clark Ashton Smith will find that it is quite easy to slip into. And the tale is indeed a vivid one, right up to the exceptional ending when Vathek and Carathis are damned to the halls of Eblis, their hearts seared with unquenchable fire.
This is a good edition of the story, and the notes and maps are helpful.
FANTASY / GOTHIC / ARABIAN NIGHTS.......2001-04-06
Those are the three categories that I've seen this story put in. Vathek tells the tale about a man with an exceedingly high tower. This man named Vathek is very greedy. The reading can be a little rough at times, which is why I took off one star, but there are some very memorable scenes. Two that really stick out in my mind are: When the stranger in the dungeon escapes. And when Vathek ascends his tall tower, thinking how tall he stands over his minions--then he looks up at the stars and grimaces, because the stars are still the same distance away. Both of these scenes are towards the beginning, which I think is the best part of the book. The middle details Vathek's journey to some far off place. But then it picks up again towards the end. I don't normally read Gothics--if this IS a Gothic, opinions vary--but it is a very good book and definitely one I plan on adding to my permanent collection. Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges gave enthusiastic mention to this book in one of his works.
Average customer rating:
|
Four Gothic Novels: The Castle of Otranto; Vathek; The Monk; Frankenstein (World's Classics)
Horace Walpole ,
William Beckford ,
Matthew Lewis , and
Mary Shelley
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Beckford, William
| ( B )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Walpole, Horace
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
British
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
18th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
19th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Gothic Revival
| Movements & Periods
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Lyrical Ballads (1800) and Other Selected Poems (Wordsworth Poetry Library) (Wordsworth Poetry Library)
-
The Victim of Prejudice.
-
Melmoth the Wanderer (Penguin Classics)
-
Blake's Poetry and Designs (Norton Critical Editions)
-
Home at Grasmere: The Journal of Dorothy Wordsworth and the Poems of William Wordsworth (Penguin Classics)
ASIN: 0192823310 |
Book Description
Macabre and melodramtic, set in haunted castles or fantastic landscapes, Gothic tales became fashionable in the late eighteenth century with the publication of Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764). Crammed with catastrophe, terror, and ghostly interventions, the novel was an immediate success, and influenced numerous followers. These include William Beckford's Vathek (1786), which alternates grotesque comedy with scenes of exotic magnificence in the story of the ruthless Caliph Vathek's journey to damation. The Monk (1796), by Matthew Lewis, is a violent tale of ambition, murder, and incest, set in the sinister monastery of the Capuchins in Madrid. Frankenstein (1818, 1831) is Mary Shelley's disturbing and perennially popular tale of young student who learns the secret of giving life to a creature made from human relics, with horrific consequences. This collection illustrates the range and the attraction of the Gothic novel. Extreme and sensational, each of the four printed here is also a powerful psychological story of isolation and monomania.
Book Description
This engaging volume presents the complete texts of three of the most importantand historically popularexamples of the Oriental tale genre. Supporting contextual material includes samples of Orientalist writing from The Spectator, Johnson's Rambler, Goldsmith's Citizen of the World, and Edgeworth's complete tale "Murad the Unlucky," as well as a selection of modern critical essays.
Customer Reviews:
From the Editor.......2002-08-06
Here are some features of this collection that readers might want to know about. It includes the original notes to *Vathek* (the 1816 version) and *The Giaour* and presents them as they were intended to be presented: in separate sections following each work. Editorial glosses and footnotes, on the other hand, are at the bottom of each page--my students, who don't like hunting for endnotes, tell me this makes a real difference for them. In addition to the three main works, *Three Oriental Tales* includes a sample from *The Arabian Nights* and Oriental tales from *The Spectator*, Johnson's *Rambler*, Goldsmith's *Citizen of the World* (Letter 33, an Orientalist send-up of Orientalism), and the complete text of Maria Edgeworth's "Murad the Unlucky." It also includes Francis Jeffrey's contemporary review of *The Giaour* and a set of recent critical responses to the tales, plus a chronology of literary Orientalism in Britain from the early translations of *The Arabian Nights* to Byron's death in 1824.
Average customer rating:
|
Vathek and Other Stories: A William Beckford Reader (Penguin Classics)
William Beckford , and
Malcolm Jack
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Criticism & Theory
| History & Criticism
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| British
| Chinese
| General
| German
| Greek
| Japanese
| Latin American
| Medieval
| Roman
| Russian
| Spanish & Portuguese
| United States
French
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Contemporary
| Romance
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0140435301 |
Average customer rating:
|
The Episodes of Vathek (Dedalus European Classics)
William Beckford
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
19th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1873982615 |
Books:
- Column Generation (Gerad 25th Anniversary Series)
- Combinatorial Optimization: Networks and Matroids
- Computational Mathematics: Models, Methods, and Analysis with MATLAB and MPI
- Control of Spatially Structured Random Processes and Random Fields with Applications (Nonconvex Optimization and Its Applications)
- Design of Advanced Manufacturing Systems: Models for Capacity Planning in Advanced Manufacturing Systems
- Design Theory (Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications)
- Differential Equations: Linear, Nonlinear, Ordinary, Partial
- Discrete Dynamical Modeling
- Discrete Dynamical Systems, Bifurcations and Chaos in Economics, Volume 204 (Mathematics in Science and Engineering)
- Domain Decomposition Methods
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Water Hole Waiting
- The Friday Night Knitting Club
- Hyper 98 Win Student
- Light Emitting Silicon for Microphotonics
- Oh My Goddess! Volume 25
- Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler
- Starting Your Marine Aquarium
- The Art of Teaching Art: A Guide for Teaching and Learning the Foundations of Drawing-Based Art
- Jim Dine: Five Themes
- Introduction to Food- And Airborne Fungi