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"In
his brilliant elucidation of the Gothic sensibility, Robert Douglas
guides us across 'that line of darkness' where the monster within us
all cleaves onto the innocent, demonized other. From the timeless,
spell-binding stories of Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde to Jack the Ripper
and the trial of Oscar Wilde, from racism and eugenics to the blood
sacrifice of The Great War, Douglas reminds us, with erudite,
page-turning prose, how life is forever imitating art. Forbidden,
atavistic desires lurk under the thin skin of our civilization, and
with equal parts horror and fascination, we are transfixed."
James FitzGerald winner, 2010 Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize author of What Disturbs Our Blood (2010)
 In
That Line of Darkness, The Shadow of Dracula and the Great War Robert
A. Douglas traces the intricate web of Zeitgeist that surfaced in one
of the nineteenth century's strangest literary creations and flowered
on the battlefields of the First World War.
Douglas has written: "As
an atavistic creature, the vampire epitomized the Gothic
discourse about the dangerous outsider and served as a repository for myriad threats that coalesced around the fear of a degenerating race. Accordingly, Dracula can be read as a fictional riff on eugenics and the fear that the British stock could deteriorate. Blood is a metaphor for racial identity, an emissary of the dangers of miscegenation or racial mixing and of collapsing social and gender boundaries. Blood as a body fl uid is a powerful metaphor for national and racial pride. Likewise its antithesis, deracination, arouses revulsion when blood is sucked out of another, transforming that person into the other and leading perhaps to the biological and political elimination of the weaker race by the stronger. The resulting destabilization could only be confronted by a radical reordering of national and personal priorities that emphasized genetics and pure blood lines, and a more muscular manhood alongside general fitness." |
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"A
massive undertaking of erudite scholarship, thoroughly researched,
readable and engaging. A comprehensive analysis of the social and
cultural descent into darkness triggered by demonization of the
'other'. Unique among studies of Dracula, That
Line of Darkness
culminates in the atrocities of the Great War—the epitome of
'monster-hunting'—and its disastrous consequences. Stoker’s classic
vampire novel provides the ideal lens through which to view the
'ideological obsession with blood, race and soil.'" Elizabeth Miller
author of A Dracula Handbook (2005) and Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Documentary Journey into the Vampire Country of the Dracula Phenomenon (2009) "If you’ve ever wondered how so many public figures, intellectuals, commentators and even entire television networks can base their existence on decrying the collapse of Western civilization—or even if you just wonder why vampire shows are so unbelievably popular—read this book. A bracing analysis of social fear." Ian Brown author of The Boy in the Moon (2009) |
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For readers of THAT LINE OF DARKNESS
Click
on this link to go
to the full bibliography.
Click on this link to go to Robert Douglas' web site devoted to That Line of Darkness. Click
on this link to go see Robert Douglas' report on the Bram Stoker Centenary Conference - 2012
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THE THAT LINE OF DARKNESS
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Robert Douglas
was born in London, Ontario, received his high school education in
Sudbury, and BA and MA degrees from the University of Toronto. He
taught history and a variety of social sciences at the secondary level
for the Durham and Peel Board of Education, including an alternative
school for over twenty years in Mississauga and an independent girls’
school, Branksome Hall, in Toronto. It was his love of teaching a
single course—a multi-disciplined Western Civilization programme—and
his passion for international travel, wide reading and conversation
that were the inspirations for That Line of Darkness: The Shadow of
Dracula and the Great War. Writing became a complement to teaching in
the hopes of reaching a larger audience.
Douglas enjoys swimming, cycling and walking, particularly in New York, London and the cities of Europe. He mission everywhere is to ferret out interesting second hand bookstores and stimulating theatre and art. For more than twenty years, the author and his wife, Gayle, have hosted monthly soirees. After dinner and wine and the viewing of a documentary film, conversation ranges over diverse political, social and artistic topics. |
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PURCHASING THAT LINE OF DARKNESS
From 23 June, 2011, That Line of
Darkness may be ordered from your favourite bookstore. You may
also purchase the book directly
from this website for $42.00 for the clothbound edition or at a
discounted price of $25.95 for the paperback, (plus, alas HST and
shipping) by e-mailing us at words@encompasseditions.com.
We will provide you with payment instructions. Shipping is usually
within 12 hours.
That Line of Darkness is now available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other on-line retailers  The fully designed Digital Book edition of That Line of Darkness, including covers, is now available in PDF format. Most tablets and electronic readers now support PDFs. You may order your digital edition of That Line of Darkness directly from Encompass Editions for $14.99 (words@encompasseditions.com) or from the author's website at www.thatlineofdarkness.com. |
THAT LINE OF DARKNESS: THE LAUNCH PARTY The first volume of Robert Douglas' That Line of Darkness
received its official send-off at the Toronto premises of Nicholas
Hoare, 45 Front Street East, on the evening of 23 June, 2011.
 The
handsome bookstore
thronged with students, scholars, well-wishers, and friends who have
followed the book's twelve-year gestation. Robert's wife Gayle oversaw
the
provision of good bread, good cheese and good wine for all, while
Robert'snreading of two excerpts from the book gave him some respite
from the furious signing of dozens of copies.
Among those in attendance were Encompass publisher Robert Buckland and agent Peter Saunders of Saunders Associates. |
THAT LINE OF DARKNESS: READING AT THE PALMERSTON On
January 26, 2012, at the Palmerson Public Library in downtown Toronto,
Robert Douglas presented to an enthusiastic audience of
thirty people a slide presentation that provided an overview to the
book. Robert complemented the images with readings from relevant
passages. A lively question period followed.
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"A remarkable read. The prose and argument is clear from the outset, the careful articulation of the Gothic novel impressive and valuable for an understanding of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Zeitgeist. A strong, engaging, and clearly written book—a pleasure to read." Dr Leonard Friesen
Associate Professor of Global Studies and History, Wilfred Laurier University, author of Rural Revolutions in Southern Ukraine: Peasants, Nobles and Colonists 1774-1905 (2009) |
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