08-14-2008, 04:17 AM
GothicLover Wrote:The historical gothics that are set in mansions and castles are rare, but occasionally a few get published, mostly with spine labels of "Historical Romance." You have to read the book descriptions carefully to find these. I doubt very much that the historical gothic will have a resurgence in popularity. I've been waiting over 35 years for it to regain popularity. I don't foresee current or later generations seeking its revival, as most of them don't read well, if at all, and if they do read, they are too grounded in the present and are looking toward the future, rather than the past. I predict that books will eventually be replaced by movies entirely, as few people will have time or inclination in the future to spend that much time reading. Note the trend toward graphic novels. I think that's a step in that direction, also.
Sigh. Whatever glint of optimism about this I can muster hopes that people will eventually get so fed up with the lack of substance in most contemporary entertainment that the old genres will see a comeback, of sorts.
One small example: the publishers of "Hard Case Crime" novels. You see these in the bookstores now, and they look like the old pulp paperbacks but a lot of their titles are new. Their whole esthetic and brand-look is purposely dated and their cover artists are having a field day. I keep hoping that other publishers will emulate this (quite successful) line and do the same in other genres -- such as gothic romance!
Yet I suppose, for right now, yes, the gothics are dead -- or at least in a coma. A friend of mine who knows I like gothics recently gave me a book she said was a present-day version of a gothic. It was some indescribably guttery thing having to do with modern-day vampires and it seemed that if you opened to any random page you were in the middle of some tritely written sex scene.
If that's really what the genre's come to, I'll stick to Victoria Holt. Sigh -- again. I've always felt I was born in the wrong epoch!
