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Great Science-Fiction
& Fantasy Works
a critical list with discussions
Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books by
Angela Carter
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Standard Disclaimer:
This is a brief discussion of Angela Carter and, of course, of some speculative-fiction books by Angela Carter This discussion and list does not necessarily include every book by Carter: it includes only those books that I both know and like. Just as with the author list itself, omission of a particular item may mean I didn't think highly enough of the omitted item, or it may simply mean that I have not yet sufficient familiarity with it. (In a very few cases, I have listed some books merely on the strength of my opinion of the author: all such books are clearly marked below, as throughout these lists, with a hash mark (#) before the title so you know what's what.) I don't pretend that this discussion is a deep analysis. My intent is no more than to give you a rough idea of what kinds of tales Carter tells, how those tales are usually told, and what makes them and Carter worthy; in sum, to help you rank Carter (and the works by Carter listed here) on your personal literary "to do" list. |
A Few Words About Angela Carter
Regrettably, I have not yet had an opportunity to write an essay on this author, but the "Other Resources" section below will lead you to some information about the "Notable Books" listed farther down this page.
Other Angela Carter Resources
Angela Carter Resources on the Web
The leading resource, and only dedicated Carter web site, is The Angela Carter Web Site. Of single pages, some of the best include Angela Carter at the Scriptorium, and Angela Carter at The Writers' Calendar. The Times (of London) has a brief page on Carter as #10 of their "50 greatest postwar writers", where there is a link (which I will include separately here) to a useful essay called "Carter the unstoppable", occasioned by a reissue of several of her books with introductions by various literary notables. "Angela Carter: Glam rock feminist" is a critical re-appraisal (14 years after her death) of Carter's literary significance. The Feminist SF&F site has an exhaustive Angela Carter bibliography. And eNotes has a succinct Carter overview, as does, for that matter, the Los Angeles Times in Giving Angela Carter her due.
There are also some one-off book reviews that are sufficiently general to illuminate Carter's work. Among those are: "Tall Tales and Brief Lives: Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus" by Brian Finney; "Femme fatale: The Bloody Chamber" by Helen Simpson in the Guardian; Nicoletta Vallorani's essay "The Body of the City: Angela Carter's The Passion of the New Eve" in Science Fiction Studies, Volume 21, Part 3; "The greatest swinger in town", nominally a review of a stage production of Nights at the Circus, but generally useful; "Flight entertainment", another Carter appreciation rooted in Nights at the Circus, but also generally useful; Angela Carterat Art and Culture; Shaking a Leg, miscellaneous Carteriana reviewed at The Complete review;
An attempt to catch all Carter links on the web, now probably well out of date but still worth a look, is Timothy Mason's Angela Carter on the Web. And, of course, as always, Google Is Your Friend.
Angela Carter Resources in Print
There are many books; here are just some:
Angela Carter and the Fairy Tale, by Danielle Marie Roemer
Anagrams of Desire: Angela Carter's Writing for Radio, Film, and Television, by Charlotte Crofts
Flesh and Mirror: Essays on the Art of Angela Carter, Lorna Shaw, editor
Angela Carter, Alison Easton, editor
Angela Carter: The Rational Glass, by Aidan Day
Critical Essays on Angela Carter, Lindsey Tucker, editor
Angela Carter: Writing from the Front Line, by Sarah Gamble
Angela Carter, by Linden Peach
Angela Carter, by Alison Lee
The Infernal Desires of Angela Carter: Fiction, Femininity, Feminism, Joseph Bristow and Trev Lynn Broughton, editors
Angela Carter, Lorna Sage and Isobel Armstrong, editor
Eroticism, Ethics and Reading: Angela Carter in Dialogue With Roland Barthes, by Yvonne Martinsson
Notable Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books by Angela Carter ***
- The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman aka The War of Dreams
- Nights at the Circus
- The Bloody Chamber *
- Fireworks *
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