“The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture” by Bernice M. Murphy

"The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture" by Bernice M. Murphy

"From the beginning of the post-war era, suburbia has frequently served as a setting for narratives of fear, repression and horror. Why has this been the case? And what actually is the Suburban Gothic? Beginning with a discussion of Shirley Jackson's novel The Road Through the Wall (1948) and ending with Desperate Housewives (2004- ), this book discusses representative texts from each decade up to the present day. Each chapter provides a contextualising examination of the era and the cultural and historical contexts of its setting, thus providing a unique insight into the changing face of the suburbs and, by extension, of American society."