Violence as Spectacle: Happy Gothic in Ben Aaronovitch’s ”Rivers of London”

Aleksandra Kędzierska

Abstract


Discussing the specificity of the Gothic plot in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London, this study focuses on the theatricality of crime which, by blending violence and laughter, by transforming policemen into performers and criminals into artists, also highlights the fact that various methods of detecting and law enforcement have thespian roots.


Keywords


Ben Aaronovitch, Punch and Judy, happy Gothic, postmillennial Gothic, theatricality of crime

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aaronovitch, B. (2011). Rivers of London. London: Gollancz.

Ascari, M. (2007). A Counter-History of Crime Fiction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Botting, F. (2008). Limits of Horror: Technology, Bodies, Gothic. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Brazil, N. (2012, August 10). [Review of the book Rivers of London, by B. Aaronovitch]. Retrieved August 10, 2015, from https://www.sfsite.com/03b/rl364.htm.

Bullock, S. (2011). Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – book review. [Review of the book Rivers of London, by B. Aaronovitch]. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from https://www.gamesradar.com/sfx

Forum on Rivers of London. Retrieved July 20, 2014 from https://forum.rpg.net/archive/index.php/t-734258.html.

Freud, S. (2000, 2007, 2010). Humour. In I. Smith (Ed.), Freud Complete Works (pp. 4539-5445). Retrieved May, 14, 2018 from

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16678137W/Freud_Complete_Works.

Horner, A., & Zlosnik, S. (2005). Gothic and the Comic Turn. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lurz, K. (2014) The Magic Detective. Peter Grant ("Rivers of London") as Opposed to Sherlock Holmes ("A Scandal in Bohemia”). München: GRIN Verlag. Retrieved June 25, 2018 from https://www.grin.com/document/432056.

Masters, T. (2012, May 3). Mr Punch celebrates 350 years of puppet anarchy. BBC News. Retrieved April 12, 2018 from https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17895716.

Nunez, M. (2016). Rivers of London (Midnight Riot) [Review of the book Review of the book Rivers of London, by B. Aaronovitch]. Retrieved September 18, 2016, from http://allreaders.com/book-review-summary/rivers-of-london-midnight-riot-400.

Rio, M. L. (2017) Crime and Theatre. Criminal Element. Retrieved April 12, 2017, from http://www.criminalelement.com/crime-and-theatre-comment-sweepstakes/.

Spooner, C. (2017). Post-Millenial Gothic. London: Bloomsbury.

Sypher, W. (1980). Comedy. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.

Świąder, B. (2012). O złu. [Review of the book Teatralność zła. Antropologiczne wędrówki, by M. Jarmułowicz]. Retrieved November 14, 2017, from www.teatr.pismo.pl.

Urban Dictionary, Retrieved December 11, 2015, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Goth.

Walpole, H. Castle of Otranto. Retrieved September 2, 2018, from https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Castle_of_Otranto/Preface.

Waterhouse, H. (2012). Midnight Riot. Customer Review. Retrieved March 17, 2017, from https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Riot-Rivers-London-Aaronovitch/product-reviews/034552425X.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2019.43.2.97-108
Date of publication: 2019-07-03 11:00:39
Date of submission: 2018-11-26 09:14:45


Statistics


Total abstract view - 915
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 472

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2019 Aleksandra Maria Kędzierska

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.