Mexican Gothic

Mexican Gothic

• Genre: Fiction; gothic horror historical fiction
• Originally Published: 2020
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: 27 chapters; approx. 301 pages; approx. 10 hours, 39 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: After receiving a fraught letter from her cousin, Noemí Taboda rushes to High Place, a house in the Mexican countryside, to save her from a mysterious doom. Noemí is glamorous and chic but whip-smart and unphased by her cousin’s menacing husband and ancient father. When she unearths violence and many secrets in High Place, she finds it impossible to leave behind the mysterious house that haunts her dreams.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Graphic violence; gore and body horror; incest; family and child deaths; murder; sexism; racism; sexual harassment; mental health and mental illness

Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Author

• Bio: Born in 1981; Mexican Canadian novelist, short story writer, editor, and publisher; born in Mexico; moved to Canada in 2004; holds a master’s degree in science and technology studies from University of British Columbia, Vancouver; serves as publisher of Innsmouth Free Press, an imprint devoted to weird fiction; co-author of several books on H. P. Lovecraft; columnist for The Washington Post since 2019
• Other Works: Signal to Noise (2015); Certain Dark Things (2016); The Beautiful Ones (2017); Gods of Jade and Shadow (2019)
• Awards: British Fantasy Award; August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel (2021); Locus Award for Best Horror Novel (2021)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Feminist Gothic
• Colonialism and Imperialism in Mexico
• Death, Corruption, and Objectification in the House of Doyle

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts regarding imperialism in Mexico that impact Noemí’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Feminist Gothic, Colonialism and Imperialism in Mexico, and Death, Corruption, and Objectification in the House of Doyle.
• Analyze and evaluate the themes, motifs, and author’s purpose to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding mental illness, eugenics, and colonialism.