Representations of evil in fiction and film

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This collection of essays explores representations of evil in the English-speaking world, focusing on fiction and film while also touching on poetry, drama, and political discourse. Primarily centered on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it offers a broad survey of evil in Anglophone literatures and cultures across various phenomena, countries, genres, and media. Contributors examine the concept of evil from multiple perspectives, addressing both classic and popular cultural reflections in American, British, and Postcolonial Literatures. Individual essays analyze works by notable authors such as William Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë, Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde, Graham Greene, and many others, including contemporary voices like Arundhati Roy and Margaret Atwood. The collection also delves into the visual medium of film, discussing significant works like The Birth of a Nation, The Night of the Hunter, and particularly David Lynch's Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, and Mulholland Drive. Additionally, it investigates the political rhetoric of figures like George W. Bush and Tony Blair, examining their strategic use of the concept of evil in discourse.