Key Concepts in Contemporary Popular Fiction (Key Concepts in Literature)

161 Pages·2017·3.415 MB·English

by  Bernice M. Murphy

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Key ConCepts in Literature
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‘Bernice M. Murphy’s excellent guide to the rapidly changing field
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of contemporary popular fiction explores every nook and cranny o
from “Aga Sagas” to Zombie fiction, leaving no stone unturned. n
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Theoretically acute, historically informed and written with e
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immense verve, this is an indispensable and, above all, accessible
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introduction that is certain to reach a wide and diverse readership.’ s

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David Glover, university of southampton n

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A jargon-free guide to the key terms, concepts and o
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theoretical approaches to contemporary popular fiction
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Key Concepts in Contemporary Popular Fiction represents an invaluable starting point for m
students wishing to familiarise themselves with this exciting and rapidly evolving area of
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literary studies. it provides an accessible, concise and reliable overview of core critical o
terminology, key theoretical approaches, and the major genres and sub-genres within r
popular fiction. Because popular fiction is significantly shaped by commercial forces, the a
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book also provides critical and historical contexts for terminology related to e-books,
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e-publishing and self-publishing platforms. By focusing in particular on post-2000 trends p Bernice M. Murphy
in popular fiction, the book provides a truly up-to-date snapshot of the subject area and o
its critical contexts. p
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Key Features L
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• Provides an engaging and knowledgeable overview of critical terminology and r
theoretical approaches used by critics working within the field K e y
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• Introduces readers to the most recent trends and newest terms, including ‘Nordic iC
Noir’, ‘New Adult Fiction’, ‘Cli-Fi’ (Climate Change Fiction), ‘Domestic Noir’ and t
‘Flash Fiction’ as well as significant terms related to fanfiction and web-publishing io
platforms such as Wattpad n
• Includes an annotated further reading list to entries on crime, horror, romance,
Concepts in
fantasy, the thriller, science fiction and comic books/graphic novels
• Supplies a chronology, providing readers with a historical overview of the major
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popular novels, critical approaches and technological innovations e
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BerniCe m. murphy is lecturer in popular Literature and director of the mphil in ic
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popular Literature at the school of english, trinity College, Dublin. she has published M
extensively on topics related to popular fiction. recent books include The Highway Horror . M Contempor ary
Film (2014) and The Rural Gothic in American Popular Culture (2013). u
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Cover image: © Shutterstock.com
Popular Fiction
Cover design: www.paulsmithdesign.com
ISBN 978-1-4744-1105-9
edinburghuniversitypress.com
KEY CONCEPTS IN CONTEMPORARY
POPULAR FICTION
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Key Concepts in Literature
Published titles
Key Concepts in Literary Theory, 3rd edition
Julian Wolfreys et al.
Key Concepts in Contemporary Popular Fiction
Bernice M. Murphy
Forthcoming titles
Key Concepts in the Gothic
William Hughes
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Key Concepts
in Contemporary Popular
Fiction
Bernice M. Murphy
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Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in
the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject
areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining cutting-edge
scholarship with high editorial and production values to produce academic
works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website:
edinburghuniversitypress.com
© Bernice M. Murphy, 2017
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
The Tun – Holyrood Road
12(2f) Jackson’s Entry
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Typeset in Sabon by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
and printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4744 1103 5 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 1104 2 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 1105 9 (paperback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 1106 6 (epub)
The right of Bernice M. Murphy to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003
(SI No. 2498).
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
A–Z of Key Concepts and Terms 15
Key Critical and Theoretical Approaches to Popular Fiction 83
Major Popular Genres 115
Fifteen Key Works of Contemporary Popular Fiction 131
Chronology of Selected Key Dates in Popular Fiction 139
Works Cited in A–Z Listing of Key Concepts and Terms 146
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Acknowledgements
I would like to begin by thanking Jackie Jones at EUP for asking me to
write this volume in the first place: it’s been a fantastic opportunity. The
continued support and encouragement of my colleagues in the TCD
School of English, and in particular, Stephen Matterson, Darryl Jones,
Helen Conrad O’Briain and Diane Sadler, is also very much appreci-
ated. I was able to write much of this book during a period of study
leave granted by the college in 2015, for which I am very grateful. The
students from the MPhil in Popular Literature and my ‘Contemporary
Popular Literature’ class frequently served as test subjects for some
of the material published here: their good-natured enthusiasm was
always heartening and illuminating. As ever, my family and friends
were patient and supportive, even when pushed to the limits of sanity
by my constant mutterings about zombies, mass culture and Amazon.
com. This book is dedicated to my fellow ‘Pop Lit’ lecturers Clare
Clarke, Jarlath Killeen and Elizabeth McCarthy. They are excellent
academics, even better colleagues and valued friends.
Bernice M. Murphy, Trinity College Dublin
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Introduction
Key Concepts in Contemporary Popular Fiction is intended to serve as
an accessible starting point for students, scholars and general readers
looking for an authoritative and concise introduction to this increas-
ingly significant field of literary study. It provides a succinct overview
of the most significant critical terms and theoretical approaches used
within popular fiction studies at the present time. Because the focus
here is also on the contemporary, particular effort has been made to
provide an insight into trends and terms related to twenty-first-century
popular fiction. However, one cannot understand the current state of
popular fiction without also engaging with the prior historical, cul-
tural, commercial and academic contexts of the subject area, and so
these elements have also been taken into consideration.
Before outlining the structure of this volume in more detail, it is
important briefly to outline just what we mean by the term ‘popular
fiction’ in the first place. This is actually a slightly trickier task that
you might initially think. As David Glover and Scott McCracken put
it:
‘Popular fiction’ is a deceptively simple phrase, at once indispensible and
commonplace, yet often left unsettlingly vague. One of the problems with
finding a clear definition of popular fiction is that the subject of study is
not always clear. The cultural formation designated by ‘popular fiction’
has changed over time and varies according to its cultural and geographical
situation. (2012: 1)
The most straightforward understanding of the term, as has often
rightly been pointed out, is to take it as meaning ‘fiction that is
popular’ – as opposed to works of fiction that remain unread by the
vast majority of the reading public (see, for instance, Ashley 1997: 2;
Berberich 2015: 2; Glover and McCracken 2012: 1; Gelder 2004: 20;
and McCracken 1998: 1).
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