Devendra P. Varma (1923–1994)
Author of The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror)
About the Author
Devendra P. Varma was born in Darbhanga, India on October 17, 1923. He eventually became a Canadian citizen. He taught English at universities in India, Nepal, Syria and Egypt before joining the Dalhousie University faculty in 1963. He became a full professor in 1969 and formally retired in 1991. show more As a professor of English and Gothic romance literature, he oversaw the publication of more than 100 Gothic novels. Some required him to patch together pieces of books that had not been seen or read since they left the print shop in the late 1700's or early 1800's. He wrote several books including Gothic Flame: Being a History of the Gothic Novel in England and The Evergreen Tree of Diabolical Knowledge. He died from a massive stroke on October 24, 1994 at the age of 71. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Devendra P. Varma
The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror) (2013) — Editor — 28 copies, 1 review
The Gothic Flame: Being A History Of The Gothic Novel In England: Its Origins, Efflorescence, Disintegration, And Residuary Influences (1957) 13 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh (1864) — Introduction, some editions — 1,597 copies, 35 reviews
Dracula: The Vampire and the Critics (Studies in Speculative Fiction, No 19) (1988) — Contributor — 9 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Varma, Devendra P.
- Legal name
- Varma, Devendra Prasad
- Birthdate
- 1923-10-17
- Date of death
- 1994-10-24
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- professor (a Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- Organizations
- Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honour Society
- Awards and honors
- IAFA Distinguished Scholarship (1993)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Knight Officer of the Holy Sepulchre
Order of the Lion and the Black Rose - Short biography
- Leading expert in Gothic literature.
- Nationality
- Canada (citizen)
- Birthplace
- Darbhanga, Bihar, India
- Places of residence
- Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Darbhanga, Bihar, India (birth)
Kathmandu, Nepal
Cairo, Egypt
Damascus, Syria
Members
Reviews
The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror) by Devendra P. Varma
The Castle of Wolfenbach: A German Story - Eliza Parsons,Diane Long Hoeveler Castle of Wolfenbach (1793) by Eliza Parsons: sort of a Nancy Drew openingI'm cross-posting my own review because eventually I hope to have read the entire horrible book, and I'd like to have all the sub-reviews collected. Wow. So it's clear why this didn't remain a popular book for long. All of the creepy gothic stuff takes place at the beginning. Then there's a section of characters acting like normal show more (aristocratic) people and traveling and having large house parties, and crushing on each other, and oh, if I had read this book before reading Mansfield Park I would never have cast any aspersions upon Fanny. Mathilda is rather unusually perfect in every way, such that everyone who meets her is immediately smitten and keen to support her for the rest of her life; and, yeah, that's not the most unbelievable part. Hard to say what is, though. There's the way two different villains repent of the horrors they have done and are immediately forgiven by the only survivors. Or the way everyone talks in monologues that last for pages of dense paragraphs. Or the pirate who was planning to retire anyway, so he might just as well help Mathilda out...Really, there isn't a single believable bit in the whole book, neither in the story nor in the telling. To sum up: gruesome, and not in a fun way (unless you enjoy reading awful books, which apparently I do, if they're old enough). First of The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collectionpersonal copy. show less
The Gothic Flame: Being a History of the Gothic Novel in England: Its Origins, Efflorescence, Disintegration, and Residu by Devendra P. Varma
976 The Gothic Flame Being a History of the Gothic Novel in England Its Origins, Efflorescence, Disintegration, and Residuary Influences, by Devendra P. Varma (read 13 Nov 1968) This study of the Gothic novel is poorly organized, but did heighten my interest in the Gothic novel, leading me to list ten Gothic novel titles that I should read. I did read The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe. But that experience did not lead me to read any other of the ten titles I noted.
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 74
- Popularity
- #238,153
- Rating
- 3.3
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 6