Phantasmagoria: Spirit Visions, Metaphors, and Media into the Twenty-first Century

Be the first to write a review

Overview

In what is thought to be a secular and rational age, why are so many of us still preoccupied with ideas of 'spirit', 'soul', and the supernatural? Why have angels, ghosts, phantasms, fairies, and zombies continued to exercise power over the imagination ever since the Enlightenment? Marina Warner explores the products of fantasy, bringing vital new insights to our ideas about the supernatural and its relationship with self and society, and probing the metaphors and media that have been the stock in trade of poets,...

See more details below
Available through our Marketplace sellers.
See All Options
Other sellers (Hardcover)
  • All (21) from $14.86   
  • New (6) from $88.49   
  • Used (15) from $14.86   
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 1
Showing All
Note: Marketplace items are not eligible for any BN.com coupons and promotions
$88.49
Letusbegin
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(5)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

New
2006-12-07 Hardcover New Brand New Hardcover! Pristine unmarked pages, may have very slight warehouse wear, no remainder marks, still a great buy straight from book warehouse ... unread, sealed in plastic, exact artwork as listed, Read more Show Less

Ships from: Ossining, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$92.99
Whiteysbooks Ny
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(277)

Condition: New
Hardcover New 0199299943 This is a hardcover book with dust jacket. ! ! ! DUST JACKET HAS MINOR SHELF WEAR OTHERWISE PERFECT! ! !

Ships from: Staten Island, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$115.16
woodysbooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4032)

Condition: New
Excellent customer service. May ship from alternate location depending on your zip code and availability. Satisfaction guaranteed!!

Ships from: Martinez, CA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$150.08
Lyric Vibes
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(147)

Condition: New
Hardcover New 0199299943 New Condition ~~~ Right off the Shelf-BUY NOW & INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE...

Ships from: Geneva, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$195.00
bluehouse
Seller since 2013

Feedback rating:

(39)

Condition: New
Brand new.

Ships from: acton, MA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
$203.05
Books Revisited
Seller since 2013

Feedback rating:

(97)

Condition: New
Brand New Item.

Ships from: Chatham, NJ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
Page 1 of 1
Showing All
Close
Sort by
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

In what is thought to be a secular and rational age, why are so many of us still preoccupied with ideas of 'spirit', 'soul', and the supernatural? Why have angels, ghosts, phantasms, fairies, and zombies continued to exercise power over the imagination ever since the Enlightenment? Marina Warner explores the products of fantasy, bringing vital new insights to our ideas about the supernatural and its relationship with self and society, and probing the metaphors and media that have been the stock in trade of poets, scientists, magicians, and visionaries, including wax and cloud, light and shadow, smoke and mirrors, ether, ectoplasm, and celluloid. Illustrated with eight pages of colour and over forty black-and-white images, Phantasmagoria is packed with apparitions, illusions, and other strange and wondrous experiences.

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Review from previous edition ...often manages splendidly vivid pictorial evocations ... a bold, imaginative and provocative study, with a range few other writers would dare."--Carolyne Larrington, Times Literary Supplement

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "The general effect is rather like that of reading through a first-class encyclopedia."--Nigel Barley, Times Higher Education Supplement

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Frighteningly literate and well-informed"--Roz Kaveney, Time Out

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Marina Warner is particularly well-equipped to conduct this investigation"--Steven Connor, The Independent

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "She is exquisitely alive not just to ideas and arguments, but also to the jag and whiff and tang of things"--Steven Connor, The Independent

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Phantasmagoria is a cabinet of familiar wonders: a jetting, generous, humane spree of thought, richly quickened by the life it finds within us and adroad, in our media and machineries of mind."--Steven Connor, The Independent

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "As always Warner's scholarship, eclecticism and inventiveness dazzle."--Bel Mooney, The Times

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "It is a book of wonders."--Hilary Mantel,The Guardian

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Phantasmagoria is a fascinating history of spirited bodies and haunted machines, but a reminder too of why the metaphors still get under our skin"--Brian Dillon, Daily Telegraph

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "This book's enquiries are wide-ranging, pertinent and up-to- date. All Marina Warner's material is freshly and enticingly presented."--The Guardian, Hilary Mantel

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "This book is a powerful statement."--Hilary Mantel,The Guardian

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Marina Warner is particularly well-equipped to conduct this investigation."--Stephen Connor, The Independent

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "A densely layered book"--Mike Dash, Sunday Telegraph

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "She is exquisitely alive not just to ideas and arguments, but also to the jag and whiff and tang of things."--Stephen Connor, The Independent

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Phantasmagoria is a cabinet of familiar wonders: a jetting, generous, humane spree of thought, richly quickened by the life it finds within us and abroad, in our media and machineries of mind."--Stephen Connor, The Independent

"Phantasmagoria is a well-argued, inspiring study...For scholars interested in the fantastic in the arts, Phantasmagoria should be thought-provoking reading because it deals in an original way with questions of how to represent the unseen, imagined, and visionary."--Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts

Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780199299942
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • Publication date: 12/7/2006
  • Pages: 496
  • Product dimensions: 9.30 (w) x 6.00 (h) x 1.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Marina Warner is Professor of Literature at the University of Essex, an Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and a Visiting Professor at St. Andrew's University, Scotland. An acclaimed novelist and mythographer, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2005.

Read More Show Less

Table of Contents


List of Illustrations     xiii
Abbreviations     xvii
Prologue     1
Introduction: The Logic of the Imaginary     9
Wax     21
Living Likenesses; Death Masks     23
Anatomies and Heroes: Madame Tussaud's     31
On the Threshold: Sleeping Beauties     47
Air     59
The Breath of Life     61
Winged Spirits and Sweet Airs     71
Clouds     81
Clouds of Glory     83
Fata Morgana; or, Castles in the Air     95
'Very Like a Whale'     105
Light     119
The Eye of the Imagination     121
Fancy's Images; Insubstantial Pageants     131
Shadow     145
Darkness Visible: The Phantasmagoria     147
The Origin of Painting; or, The Corinthian Maid     159
Mirror     167
The Danger in the Mirror     169
Double Vision     179
The Camera Steals the Soul     189
Ghost     203
'Stay This Moment': Julia Margaret Cameron and Charles Dodgson     205
Spectral Rappers, Psychic Photographers     221
Phantoms to the Test: The Society forPsychical Research     237
Ether     251
Soul Vibrations; or, The Fluidic Invisible     253
Time Travel and Other Selves     265
Exotic Visitors, Multiple Lives     277
Ectoplasm     285
Touching the Unknown     287
Materializing Mediums     299
The Rorschach Test; or, Dirty Pictures     309
Film     317
Nice Life, an Extra's     319
Disembodied Eyes: The Culture of Apocalypse     335
Our Zombies, Our Selves     357
Conclusion     371
Notes     382
Bibliography     423
Index     453
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
    If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
    Why is this product inappropriate?
    Comments (optional)