Modern Stephen King Canon

Philip L. Simpson is provost of the Titusville campus and eLearning at Eastern Florida State College.Patrick McAleer is faculty at Inver Hills Community College.

This welcome collection of essays by top Stephen King scholars reaches beyond familiar texts and clichéd horrors to demonstrate the ongoing significance of King’s output in the twenty-first century. Readers will discover the importance of understanding King’s work within the complexity of real-world horrors, including school shootings, domestic violence, and serial killers. They will also learn more about King’s wide-ranging influences, his changing reputation in American letters, and the ways his work cannot be reduced to any one genre. It is essential reading, especially for those hoping to understand why Stephen King still matters.

• INTRODUCTION: Beyond HorrorPART I: Snapshots of King’s CraftThe Rehabilitation of Stephen Kingby Tony MagistraleStorytelling and a Story Told: Stephen King’s narrators in From a Buick 8, The Colorado Kid, and Blazeby Michael PerryStephen King’s “Fair Extension:” Of Contemporary Americaby Clotilde LandaisThe Bazaar of Bad Choices: What it is to be Female in King’s New Worldby Mary FindleyPART II: Ubiquitous ViolenceMonsters At Home: Representations of Domestic and Sexual Abuse in Gerald’s Game, Dolores Claiborne, and Rose Madderby Kimberly BealRazors, Bumper Stickers, and Wheelchairs: Male Violence and Madness in Rose Madder and Mr. Mercedesby Rebecca FrostHorrific Sympathies: The Comingling of Violence and Mental Illness in Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedesby Hayley Mitchell HaugenFrom Meat World to Cyberspace: The Psychopath’s Journey in Mr. Mercedes and End of Watchby Philip L. SimpsonPART III: Reviving the GothicGothic Recall: Stephen King’s Uncanny Revival of the Frankenstein Mythby Alexandra ReuberTravelling before the Storm: Shades of the Lightning Rod Salesman in Stephen King’s Gothicby Conny L. LippertFrom Wonder to Horror: Stephen King’s Revival and Robertson Davies’s Deptford TrilogyBy Dominick GracePART IV: Contemporary CornerstonesTime Ravel: History, Metafiction, and Immersion in Stephen King’s 11/22/63by Stefan L. BrandtIn the Shadow of the Dark Tower: Stephen King’s Fantasy Epic as 9/11 Literatureby Jennifer L. MillerUntangling the True Knot: Stephen King's (Accidental) Vegan Manifesto in Doctor Sleepby Patrick McAleerBibliographyAbout the EditorsAbout the Contributors