Cults and conspiracies : a literary history
Theodore Ziolkowski (Author)
Fascination with the arcane is a driving force in this comprehensive survey of conspiracy fiction. Theodore Ziolkowski traces the evolution of cults, orders, lodges, secret societies, and conspiracies through various literary manifestations--drama, romance, epic, novel, opera--down to the thrillers of the twenty-first century. Arguing that the lure of the arcane throughout the ages has remained a constant factor of human fascination, Ziolkowski demonstrates that the content of conspiracy has shifted from religion by way of philosophy and social theory to politics. Cults and Conspiracies considers Euripides's Bacchae, Andreae's Chymical Wedding, Mozart's The Magic Flute, and Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, among other seminal works. Mimicking the genre's quest-driven narrative arc, the reader searches for the significance of conspiracy fiction and is rewarded with the author's cogent reflections in the final chapter. After much investigation, Ziolkowski reinforces Umberto Eco's notion that the most powerful secret, the magnetic center of conspiracy fiction, is in fact "a secret without content" -- Page 4 of cover
Print Book, English, 2017
Johns Hopkins paperback edition
Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2017