Gothic Precarity: Fear and Anxiety in Twenty-First-Century Fiction

From economic ruin to climate catastrophe--how the Gothic has become the literature of our precarious age.

Whether political, economic, or existential, precarity has become the defining condition of the twenty-first century. As traditional structures of security unravel, the Gothic has resurged as the perfect literary mode to explore this collective unease. Gothic Precarity is the first book of its kind to examine the intersection of Gothic fiction and precarity. Timothy Rideout masterfully examines how contemporary writers use elements of the uncanny and the monstrous to engage with the anxieties of our time.

This book explores how modern Gothic narratives tackle displacement, instability, and systemic violence--whether through vampires as symbols of ruthless capitalism in Mexico City or a spectral migrant trapped between worlds of political oppression. Through an exploration of works set in post-war Baghdad, climate-ravaged North America, and beyond, Gothic Precarity displays how today’s Gothic fiction gives form to the fears shaping our precarious world.

Timothy Rideout works in the field of health and social care leadership and management.