Dec 22, 2009
A Bloodsmoor Romance | A Bloodsmoor Romance
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1982
- Type of Plot: Historical romance fantasy
- Time of Work: 1879-1900
- Setting: Bloodsmoor, a valley in Eastern Pennsylvania
- Principal Characters: John Quincey Zinn, Prudence Kiddemaster Zinn, Constance Philippa, Malvinia, Octavia, Samantha, Deirdre
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction, Fantasy, Alternate history
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Acting or actors, Love or romance, Nineteenth century, Spiritual life or spirituality, Feminism, Women’s issues, Eighteenth century, Wit or humor, Occultism or the occult
- Locales: Pennsylvania
The Novel
Joyce Carol Oates’s book A Bloodsmoor Romance is not a kind of fiction that
is easily named, although it is not hard to recognize. The work combines both realism and fantasy in
a display of authorial skill: Oates uses several techniques to achieve this effect. First, she sets her
romance in a past that closely resembles the historical past; in that setting one finds both fictional
characters and characters who bear the names of figures from history. In addition, the characters of
the work are interested in many of the things that interested the real...
[The entire page is 2228 words long]
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