Stephen Carver Knihy

Take a walk on the dark side of the street in this unique exploration of the fears and desires at the heart of the British Empire.

The book delves into the profound influence of opium on 19th-century literature and politics, highlighting figures like Thomas De Quincey and other Romantic and Victorian writers who grappled with addiction. It contrasts the era's casual use of laudanum with modern perceptions of drug abuse, detailing the cultural and economic ramifications of the opium trade, including its connection to the British Empire's conflicts with China. Dr. Stephen Carver explores the literary significance of opium in works like The Moonstone and examines the evolution of opium into morphine and heroin.

This biography explores the life of a Victorian novelist who has been overlooked in literary history. It features original research, including unpublished correspondence, and examines his dual career as a journalist and novelist, shedding light on his contributions to literature and the media of his time.

Combines historical research with familiar and less well known nineteenth- century literature and popular culture.

In the view of many one of the greatest writers of the strange and weird, Algernon Blackwood evolved from a teller of ghost stories to a pioneering master of such emergent fictional modes as cosmic horror and nature Gothic. In tales whose settings range from the eerie North Woods of Canada to the mysterious sands of the Egyptian desert, Blackwood blurs the boundaries between human and nonhuman, living and dead, beckoning the reader into strange borderlands wherealien forces lurk, waiting for the chance to break through into our world.