Gothic Forensics

Michael Arntfield is Associate Professor in the Department of English & Writing Studies at Western University, Canada. He is also a fellow with the University of Toronto’s Centre for Research in Forensic Semiotics, an academic and investigative advisor with the American Investigative Society of Cold Cases, and a previous Fulbright Chair at Vanderbilt University, USA. Formerly serving as a police officer and detective for over fifteen years, he now specializes in literary criminology and the criminal humanities. For more information, visit www.michaelarntfield.com.

“Gothic Forensics is part of a series aiming to give semiotic readings of popular culture in clear language for lay readers. In this book, Arntfield demonstrates that transatlantic nineteenth-century texts express central ideas of modern criminology.” (Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, Vol. 57 (4), 2017)

• How to Use this book.- Introduction: The Forensic Guide.- 1 The House of the Seven Gables: Wrongful Convictions & Secondary Deviation.- 2 Bleak House: Authorship Attribution & Suspectology.- 3 “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”: Cognitive Interviewing & Crime Scene Continuity.- 4 “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt”: Holdback Evidence & the Copycat Effect.- 5 Dracula: Criminal Paraphilia & Expert Witnesses.- 6 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: Criminal Responsibility and Psychogeography.- 7 The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Psychopathy Checklist & the Dark Triad.- 8 The House by the Churchyard: Forensic Anthropology & Investigative Countermeasures.- 9 Trilby: Forensic Victimology & the Svengali Defense.- Conclusion: Towards a Literary Criminology