Originally published in 1860, the formative Gothic novel 'Sir Rohan's Ghost' by Harriet Prescott Spofford (1835-1921), one of nineteenth-century America's most significant woman writers, relates the tale of a tormented British aristocrat who struggles to retain his sanity while suffering horrifying visitations from the spectre of his dead lover amid the agonies of an already fragile mind. Setting her tale in the enigmatic Sir Rohan's beautiful-yet-decaying estate, Spofford immerses readers in a ghost story that marries lush imagery with an atmosphere of impending, mysterious doom. Upon its initial publication, a reviewer writing for 'The Baltimore Sun' deemed 'Sir Rohan's Ghost' as 'a strange, weird production, fascinating and exciting [...] A work of genius and not without moral significance'. Dating from a time when women writers like Spofford were increasingly making their voices heard by reshaping the character of popular American literature, 'Sir Rohan's Ghost' remains to this day an engaging and important work of Gothic fiction.

A forgotten gem of nineteenth-century American fiction

About the Author

Matthew Wynn Sivils is a professor of English at Iowa State University, USA, and the author/editor of eight books, including 'Ecogothic in Nineteenth-Century American Literature' (2017) and 'American Environmental Fiction, 1782-1847' (2014).

Book Information
ISBN 9781785272875
Author Harriet Prescott Spofford
Format Hardback
Page Count 200
Imprint Anthem Press
Publisher Anthem Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 153mm * 26mm