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Gothic Animals, Palgrave, Ruth Heholt, Melissa Edmundson, Gothic Literature, Gothic Horse, Demonic Horses, Horse, Folklore, Supernatural, Kirstin Mills
Gothic Horsemanship in Washington Irving & Edgar Allan Poe: New Chapter Published
January 19, 2020 In All Blog Posts No Comment

I’m very excited to share the newly released collection of essays entitled Gothic Animals: Uncanny Otherness and the Animal With-Out, edited by Ruth Heholt and Melissa Edmundson, and published by Palgrave MacMillan (with gorgeous design and quality production work). Brimming with excellent new scholarship on the creepiest manifestations of animals in gothic fiction, from rats and cats to spiders and snails, this volume charts new territory in bringing together the fields of gothic and animal studies. My own chapter, entitled “Hellish Horses and Monstrous Men: Gothic Horsemanship in Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe,” shares some of my recent research into the ways that gothic fiction uses horses and their relationship to their riders to signal changing cultural boundaries around desirable and undesirable masculinity. (more…)

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Witches, Comics, Horror Films & Feminism: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (New Podcast ep)
October 4, 2019 In All Blog Posts No Comment

I’m excited to share with you my latest guest appearance on From the Lighthouse, the podcast of Macquarie University’s Department of English. In this episode, which was incredibly fun to record, I chat with Dr Stephanie Russo about our mutual love for Netflix’s hit TV show, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-), which follows the life and adventures of a young half-mortal, half-witch as she navigates the borders between magic and mortal worlds. From our shared appreciation of Aunt Zelda’s witticisms to more serious connections with feminist politics and protest in the Trump era, this podcast episode is both fun and wide ranging! I chat about the history of witches and witchcraft, its connections with (more…)

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Informing the Inklings, the Victorian Roots of Modern Fantasy, George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll, fantasy literature
Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, Dreams, Hyperspace & Victorian Fantasy: Informing the Inklings
July 7, 2019 In Academic Research All Blog Posts News, Announcements & Events No Comment

I am very excited to announce the publication of a wonderful collection of essays entitled Informing the Inklings: George MacDonald and the Victorian Roots of Modern Fantasy, edited by Michael Partridge and Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson (Winged Lion Press, 2018). Based on ground-breaking research presented at the George MacDonald Society Conference at The University of Oxford, 2014, which you can read about here, this collection of essays represents new directions not only in George MacDonald studies but also studies in Victorian fantasy, imagination, philosophy, science and more besides. Each of the twelve essays explores how MacDonald and fellow literary figures such as S. T. Coleridge, Lewis Carroll, Charles Kingsley, and Andrew Lang paved the way for the group of twentieth-century fantasy authors known as “the Inklings,” including C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. With contributions from major critics in the field such as Stephen Prickett, Malcolm Guite, Jean Webb and Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson, as well as newer voices from a range of international scholars, this book treads new territory while returning us to the roots of modern fantasy literature. (more…)

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Global Frankenstein, Palgrave, Carol Davison, Marie Mulvey Roberts, Gothic Literature, Science Fiction Studies
Global Frankenstein: Mary Shelley, Ghosts and Hyperspace – New Published Chapter!
December 9, 2018 In Academic Research All Blog Posts News, Announcements & Events No Comment

I’m very excited to announce the release of a wonderful new book on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which includes 17 chapters by international scholars (including my own) in celebration of Frankenstein‘s 200th anniversary! Global Frankenstein, edited by Carol Margaret Davison and Marie Mulvey-Roberts is published this month by Palgrave Macmillan. It has been called a “welcome collection of articles—about Frankenstein and science and technology, medicine and monstrosity, the spectacular and the visual…and the future—by a new generation of scholars,” which “brings the story up to date by viewing it from the perspectives, and through the concerns, of today. It’s a very suitable, and suitably global, 200th birthday celebration” (Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, author of Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years [2017]).

My chapter is entitled “Frankenstein in Hyperspace: The Gothic Return of Digital Technologies to the Origins of Virtual Space in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.” It explores the uncanny return to elements of Mary Shelley’s context brought on by (more…)

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Frankenstein at 200, Frankenstein, Frankenweek, 200th Anniversary, Frankenreads, Mary Shelley, Shelley, Nightmare, Film, Silent Film, 1910, demons, psychology, Blog, Gothic, Novel, Science Fiction, Kirstin Mills, Edison, 1910, 1931
Moving Monsters: The First Frankenstein Film, 1910 (Anniversary Series #8)
October 31, 2018 In Academic Research All Blog Posts No Comment

Having explored some of the many fascinating and spooky contexts surrounding Mary Shelley’s novel, this final post for my 200th Anniversary Series looks at the novel’s entry into the glamorous world of film. Frankenstein has entered popular culture in a massive way, largely influenced by the famous 1931 film starring Boris Karloff with his neck bolts and lumbering frame, but did you know that this isn’t the earliest film adaptation of Frankenstein? Over twenty years earlier, in 1910, Edison Studios released a 15-minute feature that has become one of the most interesting films of the silent era. Designed to be accompanied by music, it loosely adapts Mary Shelley’s plot to represent the first time the monster was seen on screen. (more…)

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Frankenstein at 200, Frankenstein, Frankenweek, 200th Anniversary, Frankenreads, Mary Shelley, Science, Galvanism, Electricity, Vitality, Supernatural, Blog, Gothic, Novel, Science Fiction, Kirstin Mills
Frankenstein, Galvanism & the Science of Raising the Dead (Anniversary Series #7)
October 30, 2018 In Academic Research All Blog Posts No Comment

A nervous crowd huddles in the makeshift amphitheater of a house near London’s Newgate Prison. The hum of voices rises and falls with the excited whispers and troubled exclamations of the surgeons and attending officials who have come to witness this spectacle. The lamps flicker overhead, casting a pool of wan light onto a table in the centre of the crowd; upon it, the pale, lifeless body of a man, hanged only hours before. In life he had been a murderer; now the purple bruise of the hangman’s noose swells darkly on his cold neck. The man leading the show busies himself around the corpse with shining metal equipment. An electric battery stands nearby, and the man leans over the corpse brandishing two conducting rods. The crowd hushes. A scintillating tremor of expectation sizzles through the mass of eager bodies, perched, awaiting what new horrors might be opened up by this latest scientific breach of the natural world – this time, of the boundary between life and death. The rods connect with the cold skin, a crackling buzz sounds – the electric pulse is delivered. A moment of quiet, and suddenly the dead man’s body moves. His eyes snap open and glare, glass-like, wide with animated horror at the men whose terrified gaze stares back. (more…)

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  • Dr Kirstin Mills, writer, artist, illustrator, travel writer, explorer, academic

    Kirstin Mills is an Australian artist, writer, lecturer and researcher following her endless curiosity into realms of imagination and wonder. Read more about her life & projects here.

  • Blog Categories

    • Academic Research (27)
    • All Blog Posts (36)
    • Art & Illustration (3)
    • Conferences (8)
    • Folklore (1)
    • Gothic Landscapes (3)
    • Literary Landscapes: In the Footsteps of Authors & Characters (1)
    • News, Announcements & Events (4)
    • Reviews (4)
    • Wanderings (7)
  • Latest on Twitter

    My Tweets
  • Instagram

    Last week’s tea break activity was proofing a ch Last week’s tea break activity was proofing a chapter to be published soon with Palgrave’s Handbook of the Gothic! I know some people loathe proofing, but I actually really enjoy it: there’s something soothing about checking for the small details once all the hard work is done. This was also a fun chapter to write so I’m super excited for it to be out in the world!
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#academiclife #researchlife #gothicliterature #gothic #writing #research #literature #victorianliterature #nineteenthcentury #supernatural #ghoststories #bookstagram #bookpublishing #academia #academicwriting #homeoffice
    Morning sunshine on a jacaranda. I love the Spring Morning sunshine on a jacaranda. I love the Spring explosions of purple that delightfully interrupt shades of green across Sydney 💚💜💚
    So sad to hear of Professor Stephen Prickett’s p So sad to hear of Professor Stephen Prickett’s passing. An eminent Victorian fantasy scholar, he was also wonderfully kind & particularly supportive of younger scholars’ work. He examined my PhD thesis & continued to encourage my work long after. This photo is from the “Re-imagining the Inklings: the Victorian Roots of Modern Fantasy” conference organized by the George MacDonald Society, of which Stephen was longtime president. It was my first conference after finishing my PhD, and Stephen was so welcoming. He will be missed.
    I have been waiting all year to crack out these li I have been waiting all year to crack out these little dudes. It’s officially Spooky Season! 🦇🦇🦇🦇
#halloween #gothic
    ‪I haven’t shared work stuff for a while becau ‪I haven’t shared work stuff for a while because of much more important things going on in the world, but if anyone needs a little respite from 2020, our new podcast series (for @Macquarieuni English) is all about Teen Movie adaptations of classic literature and features gems like Clueless & 10 Things I Hate About You. So far it’s been a really interesting flashback to my own teen years (& a really interesting reflection on how things do and don’t change over the years - and sometimes centuries)! More episodes on the way, & the first 4 are available now. Read more and find the episodes at http://www.kirstinmills.com/blog/teen-movie-adaptations-classic-literature-podcast‬
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#teenmovie #adaptation #literature #clueless #tenthingsihateaboutyou #10thingsihateaboutyou #easya #shestheman #shesallthat #movies #moviequotes #classicliterature #teenage #bookstomovies #readersofinstagram
    #blackouttuesday Rather than just taking a break #blackouttuesday 
Rather than just taking a break from social media, please use this time to listen to, read, and learn from the voices this movement is designed to amplify. Social media expressions against racism are not enough. Individually condemning racism isn’t enough. Thinking “racism is horrible but I’m not racist” is definitely not enough. We need to educate ourselves, and demand and fight for real, deep, systemic change (yes, in Australia and the UK and elsewhere too). At the very least, donate what you can to the organizations currently on the ground doing the hard work. One place to start: see link in my bio.
    Wondering what to read, watch and listen to during Wondering what to read, watch and listen to during lockdown? I was recently invited to join my friends Stephanie and Jimmy, hosts of Macquarie University’s From the Lighthouse podcast, to chat about our go-to books, podcasts, films and TV to help pass the time and ease the load of this strange new social-distancing world. Listen to the podcast episode on my blog (link in bio) 📚☕️
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#podcast #podcastersofinstagram #podcasting #books #bookstagram #booklover #booksofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #lockdown #isolation #whattoread #whattoreadnext #movies #recommendedreading #recommendedbooks #recommended #chat #talk #book #bookobsessed #booknerd #bookclub
    Today I gave a talk on some of my research for the Today I gave a talk on some of my research for the first of Macquarie Uni’s Department of English Research Seminars! It’s always fun to present, but today was particularly enjoyable (lovely people, super enthusiastic reception, plus when else do you get to make double entrendre jokes about sexy men on horseback and call it work?!). Now, time for wine. And pasta. And more pasta. And more wine. 🍷🍝
    TOMORROW! I’m giving a talk at Macquarie Univers TOMORROW! I’m giving a talk at Macquarie University as the first speaker in the Department of English Research Seminar Series. My talk will be on one of my recent research projects, and is entitled “Hellish Horses and Monstrous Men: The Evolution of the Gothic Horse in the Long Nineteenth Century.” Read more about it and find the talk details on my website (link in bio). [Painting of a scene from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by John Quidor]💀🐎🦇 .
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#gothic #gothicliterature #gothicart #sleepyhollow #washingtonirving #edgarallanpoe #academia #academiclife #macquarieuniversity #nineteenthcentury #nineteenthcenturyart #horse #horses #gothichorse #headlesshorseman
    Follow Kirstin on Instagram

  • Recent Posts

    • Teen Movie Adaptations of Classic Literature, Film Adaptations, Adaptations of Literature, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Easy A, She's the Man, She's All That, Teen Movies
      Teen Movie Adaptations of Classic Literature: Podcast Series
      May 11, 2020
    • macbeth, shakespeare, witches, three witches, magic, women, feminism
      Witches & the Magic of Shakespeare's Macbeth: New Podcast Guest Appearance
      May 8, 2020
    • New Podcast Chat: What to Read and Watch during Covid-19 Lockdown
      April 5, 2020
  • Latest Tweets

    My Tweets
  • Instagram

    Last week’s tea break activity was proofing a ch Last week’s tea break activity was proofing a chapter to be published soon with Palgrave’s Handbook of the Gothic! I know some people loathe proofing, but I actually really enjoy it: there’s something soothing about checking for the small details once all the hard work is done. This was also a fun chapter to write so I’m super excited for it to be out in the world!
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#academiclife #researchlife #gothicliterature #gothic #writing #research #literature #victorianliterature #nineteenthcentury #supernatural #ghoststories #bookstagram #bookpublishing #academia #academicwriting #homeoffice
    Morning sunshine on a jacaranda. I love the Spring Morning sunshine on a jacaranda. I love the Spring explosions of purple that delightfully interrupt shades of green across Sydney 💚💜💚
    So sad to hear of Professor Stephen Prickett’s p So sad to hear of Professor Stephen Prickett’s passing. An eminent Victorian fantasy scholar, he was also wonderfully kind & particularly supportive of younger scholars’ work. He examined my PhD thesis & continued to encourage my work long after. This photo is from the “Re-imagining the Inklings: the Victorian Roots of Modern Fantasy” conference organized by the George MacDonald Society, of which Stephen was longtime president. It was my first conference after finishing my PhD, and Stephen was so welcoming. He will be missed.
    I have been waiting all year to crack out these li I have been waiting all year to crack out these little dudes. It’s officially Spooky Season! 🦇🦇🦇🦇
#halloween #gothic
    ‪I haven’t shared work stuff for a while becau ‪I haven’t shared work stuff for a while because of much more important things going on in the world, but if anyone needs a little respite from 2020, our new podcast series (for @Macquarieuni English) is all about Teen Movie adaptations of classic literature and features gems like Clueless & 10 Things I Hate About You. So far it’s been a really interesting flashback to my own teen years (& a really interesting reflection on how things do and don’t change over the years - and sometimes centuries)! More episodes on the way, & the first 4 are available now. Read more and find the episodes at http://www.kirstinmills.com/blog/teen-movie-adaptations-classic-literature-podcast‬
.
.
.
#teenmovie #adaptation #literature #clueless #tenthingsihateaboutyou #10thingsihateaboutyou #easya #shestheman #shesallthat #movies #moviequotes #classicliterature #teenage #bookstomovies #readersofinstagram
    #blackouttuesday Rather than just taking a break #blackouttuesday 
Rather than just taking a break from social media, please use this time to listen to, read, and learn from the voices this movement is designed to amplify. Social media expressions against racism are not enough. Individually condemning racism isn’t enough. Thinking “racism is horrible but I’m not racist” is definitely not enough. We need to educate ourselves, and demand and fight for real, deep, systemic change (yes, in Australia and the UK and elsewhere too). At the very least, donate what you can to the organizations currently on the ground doing the hard work. One place to start: see link in my bio.
    Wondering what to read, watch and listen to during Wondering what to read, watch and listen to during lockdown? I was recently invited to join my friends Stephanie and Jimmy, hosts of Macquarie University’s From the Lighthouse podcast, to chat about our go-to books, podcasts, films and TV to help pass the time and ease the load of this strange new social-distancing world. Listen to the podcast episode on my blog (link in bio) 📚☕️
.
.
.
.
#podcast #podcastersofinstagram #podcasting #books #bookstagram #booklover #booksofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #lockdown #isolation #whattoread #whattoreadnext #movies #recommendedreading #recommendedbooks #recommended #chat #talk #book #bookobsessed #booknerd #bookclub
    Today I gave a talk on some of my research for the Today I gave a talk on some of my research for the first of Macquarie Uni’s Department of English Research Seminars! It’s always fun to present, but today was particularly enjoyable (lovely people, super enthusiastic reception, plus when else do you get to make double entrendre jokes about sexy men on horseback and call it work?!). Now, time for wine. And pasta. And more pasta. And more wine. 🍷🍝
    TOMORROW! I’m giving a talk at Macquarie Univers TOMORROW! I’m giving a talk at Macquarie University as the first speaker in the Department of English Research Seminar Series. My talk will be on one of my recent research projects, and is entitled “Hellish Horses and Monstrous Men: The Evolution of the Gothic Horse in the Long Nineteenth Century.” Read more about it and find the talk details on my website (link in bio). [Painting of a scene from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by John Quidor]💀🐎🦇 .
.
.
#gothic #gothicliterature #gothicart #sleepyhollow #washingtonirving #edgarallanpoe #academia #academiclife #macquarieuniversity #nineteenthcentury #nineteenthcenturyart #horse #horses #gothichorse #headlesshorseman
    Follow Kirstin on Instagram

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