The Wizard of Mecosta: Russell Kirk, Gothic Fiction, and the Moral Imagination, by Camilo Peralta

Camilo Peralta's The Wizard of Mecosta gives the first detailed look at Russell Kirk's fiction, from his ghost stories to his three gothic novels. While the work particularly emphasizes Kirk's gothic influences, Peralta also explores references to T.S. Eliot and Charles Williams in his fiction, as well as comments in his nonfiction about Lewis and Williams writing 'tales of the preternatural.' The discussion provides important material for seeing Kirk as an Inklings-influenced author. Additional Keywords russell kirk; t.s. eliot; ray bradbury; stephen king; j.r.r. tolkien; c.s. lewis; charles williams; lord of the hollow dark; old house of fear; creature of the twilight his memorials; evelyn waugh; gothic fiction; horror; fantasy
READERS FAMILIAR WITH RUSSELL KIRK'S groundbreaking political study The Conservative Age are often surprised to learn it wasn't his most successful book. His greatest seller was his novel Old House [...]