Diana Wallace is Professor of English Literature at the University of Glamorgan. She is the author of The Woman's Historical Novel (2005) and Sisters and Rivals in British Women's Fiction, 1914-39 (2000).

In 'Female Gothic Histories' Diana Wallace provides a powerful account of the centrality of historical fiction to the evolution of the Gothic and, in the process, re-writes the story of the origins of the historical novel. Her finely-argued and nuanced case-studies -- ranging from Sophia Lee in the C18thth to Sarah Waters in the C21st -- will cause readers to reflect anew upon both genres and the intriguing ways in which their genealogies intertwine. Elegantly written, carefully researched and imaginative in its use of literary and feminist theory, this book will quickly establish itself as priority reading for students and scholars alike. Professor Lynne Pearce, Lancaster University.

• 1 Introduction 2. The Murder of the Mother: Sophia Lee's The Recess (1783-5) Coda: The daughter's story: Ann Radcliffe and the Female Gothic 3. Be-witched and Ghosted: Elizabeth Gaskell's Gothic historical tales 4. Puzzling over the Past: Vernon Lee's fantastic stories 5. Displacing the Past: Daphne du Maurier and the modern Gothic 6. Queer as History: Sarah Water's Gothic historical novels Afterword