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In
the past twenty years, somewhere in the space between great literature and
popular fiction there has opened up a whole new space for feminist, gay and
lesbian novels. These have played an important part in the celebration, and/or
reconstruction, of sexual and gendered identities.
Sweet Dreams explores some of the issues thrown up by considering these different
forms of fiction together. Feminist, gay and lesbian novels are not necessarily
unproblematic in their approach to issues of identity; equally, more traditional
writing - whether from the literary canon or from the popular world - can
be read in ways that are fruitful for an understanding of how novels provide
a context within - or against - which we define ourselves and our pleasures.
The essays cover a very wide range of fictional writing - vampire stories,
romance, science fiction, detective novels; even Enid Blyton. It is an exciting
addition to theories of how we create, as readers and writers, stories that
make sense of our worlds.
Contributors: Jon Cook, Richard Dyer, Alison Hennegan, Sarah Lefanu, Sally
Munt, Susannah Radstone, Amal Treacher, Elizabeth Wilson.