Twilight and Its Contexts

Published last year from John Wiley & Sons, Twilight and History is a mixed bag of essays exploring the various contexts of the Twilight series:

Twilight and History
Nancy Reagin
ISBN: 978-0-470-58178-0
Paperback
288 pages
April 2010
US $17.95

The first look at the history behind Stephenie Meyer's bestselling Twilight series, timed to release with the third movie, Eclipse.

The characters of the Twilight Saga carry a rich history that shapes their identities and actions over the course of the series. Edward, for instance, may look like a seventeen-year-old teen heartthrob, but was actually born in 1901 and died during the Spanish Influenza of 1918. His adopted sister, Alice, was imprisoned in an insane asylum in 1920 and treated so badly there that even becoming a vampire was a welcome escape. This book is the first to explore the history behind the Twilight Saga's characters and their stories. You’ll learn about what life might have been like for Jasper Whitlock Hale, the Confederate vampire who fought during the Civil War, Carlisle Cullen, the Puritan witch hunter-turned-vampire who participated in the witchcraft persecutions in Early Modern England, and the history of the Quileute culture that shaped Jacob and his people —and much more.

Gives you the historical backdrop for Twilight Saga characters and events
Adds a whole new dimension to the Twilight novels and movies
Offers fresh insights on vampires, romance, and history
Twilight and History is an essential companion for every Twilight fan, whether you've just gotten into the series or have followed it since the beginning.


CONTENTS:

Acknowledgments: For Those Who Turned Us.

Twilight's Timeline.

Introduction: Frozen in Time (Nancy R. Reagin).

PART ONE: Your Basic Human-Vampire-Werewolf/Shape-shifter Triangle: Bella, Edward, and Jacob.

1 “An Old-Fashioned Gentleman”? Edward’s Imaginary History (Kate Cochran). [download from the publisher]

2 Biting Bella: Treaty Negotiation, Quileute History, and Why “Team Jacob” Is Doomed to Lose (Judith Leggatt and Kristin Burnett).

3 CinderBella: Twilight, Fairy Tales, and the Twenty-First-Century American Dream (Sara Buttsworth).

4 Courting Edward Cullen: Courtship Rituals and Marital Expectations in Edward’s Youth (Catherine Coker).

PART TWO: Some Family History: The Cullen Coven.

5 Jasper Hale, the Oldest Living Confederate Veteran (Elizabeth Baird Hardy).

6 Smoky Mountain Twilight: The Appalachian Roots of Emmett McCarty Cullen and His Family (Elizabeth Baird Hardy).

7 Better Turned Than “Cured”? Alice and the Asylum (Grace Loiacono and Laura Loiacono).

8 Carlisle Cullen and the Witch Hunts of Puritan London (Janice Liedl).

9 A Subtle and Dangerous Gift: Jasper Hale and the Specter of the American Civil War (Andrea Robertson Cremer).

10 Like Other American Families, Only Not: The Cullens and the “Ideal” Family in American History (Kyra Glass von der Osten).

PART THREE: A World of Vampires: The Volturi and Beyond.

11 The Sort of People Who Hired Michelangelo as Their Decorator: The Volturi as Renaissance Rulers (Birgit Wiedl).

12 “Where Do the Cullens Fit In?”: Vampires in European Folklore, Science, and Fiction (Eveline Brugger).

13 Getting Younger Every Decade: Being a Teen Vampire during the Twentieth Century (Kat Burkhart).

The Forks High School Faculty.

Index: Alice Foresaw All of This


Nancy R. Reagin is a professor of history and women's and gender studies at Pace University, who has published several books in modern European history. Her current research focuses on the history of literary fan communities. She's also an active fan who has worked on fan archives and Web sites, and has helped build fan organizations. She rooted for Team Jacob long after most reasonable people would have given up hope.