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Decadence: A Very Short Introduction provides an overview of the culture of decadence—the artistic expression of a conflicted sense of modernity—by tracing its origin in ancient Rome, development in nineteenth-century Paris and London, manifestation in early-twentieth-century Vienna and Weimar Berlin, and current resonance in contemporary life. It explores conflicting attitudes toward modernity in decadent culture by examining both aesthetic decadence—the excess of artifice—and social decadence, which involves excess in many forms, whether perversely pleasurable or gratuitously cruel. The integration of aesthetic and social decadence led some of its practitioners to substitute art for life and to stress the importance of taste over morality, a move with far-reaching cultural consequences.Less

The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction shows that the concept of ‘Gothic’ is wildly diverse. It can refer to ecclesiastical architecture, supernatural fiction, cult horror films, and a distinctive style of rock music. It has influenced political theorists and social reformers, as well as Victorian home décor and contemporary fashion. Time after time, the Gothic has been invoked in order to reveal what lies behind conventional history. While contexts change, the Gothic perpetually regards the past with fascination, with both yearning and horror. It reminds us that neither societies nor individuals can escape the consequences of their actions. The anatomy of the Gothic is richly complex and perversely contradictory.Less