MACMILLAN Hysteria, Trauma and Melancholia: Performative Maladies in Contemporary Anglophone Drama

Hysteria, trauma and melancholia are not only powerful tropes in contemporary culture, they are also prominent in the theatre. As the first study in its field, Hysteria, Trauma and Melancholia explores the characteristics and concerns of the Drama of Hysteria, Trauma and Melancholia through in-depth readings of representative plays. Review 'Christina Wald's book is an ambitious, well-researched and meticulous study expert application of an impressive array of secondary sources.' Jozefina Komporaly, Gender Forum 'Hysteria, Trauma and Melancholia demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the issues it negotiates, further evidenced in the approach and arguments it goes on to pursue. The work retains this throughout, providing a sound understanding of the social and performance contexts of its case studies and exploring these exhaustively from different angles...In handling highly sensitive topics and attempting to make these accessible to the readership, the study is committed, original, and of considerable academic merit.' - Vicky Angelaki, Journal for the Studies of British Cultures 'This monograph is the first to explore in detail how these three forms of mental affliction have come to quite literally haunt the stage. It is a significant book...' Graham Saunders Year's Work in English Studies 'Hysteria, Trauma and Melancholia is an important contribution to theatre studies and to the discourse concerning performativity. It surveys a substantial array of recent drama, is theoretically informed, cogent and happily avoids the excesses of the Teutonic passion for typology' - Clare Wallace, Litteraria Pragensia About the Author CHRISTINA WALD is Assistant Professor of English Literature at the University of Augsburg, Germany. She has co-edited a book on the rhetorical figure of repetition ( Kippfiguren der Wiederholung, 2007) and published articles on contemporary and early modern drama, feminist and gender theory, and on filmic adaptations of Jane Austen's novels.