Exploring literary fascination as a key concept of aesthetic attraction, this book illuminates the ways in which literary texts are designed, presented, and received. Detailed case studies include texts by William Shakespeare, S.T. Coleridge, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, Joseph Conrad, Don DeLillo, and Ian McEwan.

Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Literature and Fascination 2. The Power of Magic and the Fear of Contamination: Fascination in Early (Modern) Literature 3. Facing the Femme Fatale: The Poetics of Seduction and the Fascination with Storytelling 4. The Spark of Inspiration: Mesmerism, Electrifying Fiction, and Gothic Fascination 5. The Anxiety of Influence: Fascination with the Self and the Other 6. The Gorgon Gazes Back: Contemporary Fascination 7. The Journey Ahead: Medusamorphic Perspectives Bibliography Index