Black Venus by Angela Carter

Posted on | April 13, 2010 | 21 Comments

Black Venus was Angela Carter’s third collection (the fourth, American Ghosts and Old World Wonders was published posthumously in 1993), published in 1985 (it is entitled Saints and Strangers in the U.S.). I like it more than the early, experimental Fireworks (reviewed here) but less than the inventive, fairy-tale dependent, The Bloody Chamber. Black Venus is a mature work and some of the stories are imaginative portraits of real people: Jean Duval, the black mistress of Baudelaire; Edgar Allan Poe; Lizzie Borden; others range from a re-envisaging of the Peter and the Wolf tale and an overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream that features a hermaphrodite named the Golden Herm.

Although these stories are seemingly disparate, there is a cohesion to the collection; the themes of each may not be in tandem but there are recognisable motifs and repeated phrases and images throughout. Considering that these stories featured in separate publications during the late Seventies and early Eighties, before being collected in the one volume, it is interesting to chart Carter’s similar thought-processes throughout. As in the majority of short story collections, there is an uneven quality to those collected with some far more engaging and memorable than others; the vivid use of language and literary subject in “Overture and Incidental Music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream“, a precursor to the bawdy Shakespearean romp, Wise Children, is far superior to the more pared-down (not that Carter ever fully pared anything down), less richly imaginative, stories. Of course, the stories also resonate more for those who have prior knowledge of the people Carter writes about or the literature she writes about; the title story, about Jean Duval, didn’t work so much for me as I’m not that familiar with Baudelaire.

What Black Venus does have to offer is one of my favourite Carter stories, “The Cabinet of Edgar Allan Poe”. Carter’s writing is richly imbued with literary allusions and there several made to Poe (I said here that I would reveal the connection between Carter and Poe). In her novel Love, for instance, the main characters are named Annabel and Lee and there is a Gothic preoccupation with vagina dentata; in her non-fiction essay, “Through a Text Backwards: The Resurrection of the House of Usher”, Carter argues that Poe’s “The Philosophy of Compisition” should be retitled “The Philosophy of Decomposition” as he had a predilection for dead and dying women. “The Cabinet of Edgar Allan Poe” -a play on the title of the 1920 German Expressionist film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari- is very much about Poe’s obsession with dead and dying women (and the beginnings of his fear of vagina teeth) beginning with his own mother. Yes, those who can recognise the nods to Poe’s famous poem “The Raven” and his biographical details will benefit more from this story but I also think it is engrossing, illuminating, and also wickedly dark and funny, regardless of whether you are a Poe fan or not (although I very much am). Undoubtedly one of Carter’s literary influences, this simultaneous tribute to and send-up of Poe is abundant with camp Gothic and Hammersmith Horror elements with a back-drop of the theatrical and performative; for me, “The Cabinet of Edgar Allan Poe” exhibits most of what I love about Carter: her decadence; her lush writing; her rich literary allusions; her love for the macabre; her love for the theatrical; her interesting absence of mothers (all of these elements -minus the macabre- feature in my favourite Carter novels, Nights at the Circus and Wise Children, and are the reasons why I love them both).

I have one copy of Black Venus courtesy of Vintage Books to give-away to someone who can tell me which writer they would love to read a short story about. Open worldwide until Wednesday 21st April at 12pm BST.

Category: Angela Carter Month, Book Reviews, Challenges, Competitions
Tags: Angela Carter > Edgar Allan Poe > Short Stories > Vintage Books

Comments

21 Responses to “Black Venus by Angela Carter”

Verity
April 13th, 2010 @ 4:28 pm

Intriguing! I am not sure that this is one for me, but an extremely good review Claire. (Please don’t enter me for the draw, but there are so many writers I would love to read short stories about – today I think Daphne Du Maurier!)
lizzysiddal
April 13th, 2010 @ 8:26 pm

You know I have never read Angela Carter – although I’ve been meaning to for ages …. and I sure would like to read a short story about her too!

Is that a cop out? Actually I would have said Edgar Allen Poe. I loved “The Raven” and I adore the wonderful illustrated Dodo Press edition that graces my shelves.
Aarti
April 13th, 2010 @ 10:16 pm

It is interesting that Carter seems to do well, in your opinion, with both short stories and full-length novels. I feel it is hard for an author to be good at both, though I suppose if the author’s novels are character-driven, then that makes sense that the short stories would also be successful. (I feel that short stories are usually character-driven.)
Mark David
April 14th, 2010 @ 4:29 am

Well, that cover does look quite macabre to me But I certainly love “lush writing”. About your question, I’d like to read a short story that features Vladimir Nabokov. He’s quite an interesting character. (please don’t include me for the give-away… I think I somehow have a knack for winning these raffles but I already have more books than I can finish this year, hehe)
Mark David
April 14th, 2010 @ 4:31 am

By the way, this must be the best-articulated review I’ve read in quite a while. Excellent
Mystica
April 14th, 2010 @ 7:02 am

I know I’d sound as if I’ve lived in outer space but I hadnt even heard of Angela Carter since two days ago and now she is all over the blogosphere. I have read three reviews just this morning on her books. Would love to be counted in for the giveaway please.
A Bookish Space
April 14th, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

This is such a wonderful review and I am not intrigued. I would love to read a short story about Margaret Mitchell, who wrote Gone with the Wind. I am currently reading an analysis of GWTW, and it sounds like she has an interesting life.
Rosalind
April 14th, 2010 @ 1:54 pm

Thank you so much for The Passion of New Eve! I’m really excited. Can I enter this competition too, or is that just greedy?

I’d like to read a story about Jean Rhys because I think she was fascinating – both vulnerable and utterly self-involved. I’m reading her letters at the moment and she’s desperate and obsessive about money, which is the side of writing readers hardly ever get to see! I think she’d make an interesting subject for a story.

I absolutely love The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and you have really whetted my appetite for Angela Carter!
vivienne
April 14th, 2010 @ 2:37 pm

I didn’t realise there were so many volumes of short stories available by Angela Carter. I have just finished The Passion of New Eve and I have to say the whole storyline left me speechless, but in a good way.
Steph
April 14th, 2010 @ 3:49 pm

This sounds like such a neat short story collection – I love the idea of drawing inspiration from other authors and famous figures, although part of me does feel a bit wary about it since of late there’s been such a surfeit of fiction that revolves around authors who lived and breathed (e.g., Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, the Brontes, etc.,). I wonder if someone will write a story about Carter one of these days!
Paperback Reader
April 14th, 2010 @ 5:36 pm

Thanks, Verity. No, I wouldn’t say this is a book for you either although I do urge you to read a story or two from The Bloody Chamber at some point to see how you get on with those.

Lizzy, it’s not a cop-out at all! I’d love to read a short story about Carter too and suspect it would be riotously funny and bizarre.

Poe is both wonderful to read and read about.

Aarti, very interesting point. I definitely think that Carter is masterful at both but her full-length fiction wins out for me (despite how much I love The Bloody Chamber and “The Cabinet of Edgar Allan Poe” mentioned here). I wouldn’t actually say that her writing is character-driven despite the portraits of characters in this collection … some of her characters stand out (especially Fevvers from Nights at the Circus, as I showcased in Rosie’s Riveters) but it is her prose that is in another league.

Mark David, thank you, that is such a sweet thing to come back and say! The cover is indeed quite macabre and Nabokov is definitely a character! Great suggestion.

Mystica, I’d like to think that my Angela Carter month has something to do with that! I hope now that you have heard of her that you manage to discover her work and enjoy it.

Estelle, ooh a Margaret Mitchell short story would be interesting! I am a huge fan of Gone With the Wind.

Rosalind, it’s not greedy at all! Consider yourself entered.

Vivienne, speechless in a good way sounds promising and spot-on for The Passion of New Eve! There are four short story collections but all are available in the one volume, Burning Your Boats, if you’re interested.

Steph, a Carter short story would be a wonderful thing. I do love rewritings of literary works and literary imaginings of literary lives but there has been a recent surfeit of it recently; I think the great thing about Carter’s takes are that you could never confuse them with fact!
Sara
April 14th, 2010 @ 5:48 pm

I’d love to read a short story about Jasper Fforde or Neil Gaiman (They’re both so quirky and full of life) or about James Joyce.
Tracey
April 14th, 2010 @ 6:22 pm

Great review, please enter my name for giveaway.

A short story about Paula Rego would be interesting, written by AS Byatt perhaps, she could include little sub-plots around Regos surreal characters, hang on, this sounds like a very long short story.
Paperback Reader
April 15th, 2010 @ 2:10 am

Hi Sara, thank you for commenting on my blog for the first time. I love both Jasper Fforde and Neil Gaiman so a short story about either would be fabulous (in fact, it seems like the time of thing that Neil would do himself).

Tracey, thank you and consider yourself entered.

I had to look up Paula Rego and now I am intrigued.
Corvus
April 15th, 2010 @ 1:34 pm

I suspect some of Gaiman’s short stories are semi-autobiographical, with (of course) an element of the fantastic thrown in. As for me, I’m on a bit of a fantasy kick- perhaps Tolkien?
Paperback Reader
April 17th, 2010 @ 12:16 pm

Corvus, thank you for commenting on my blog for the first time. I think some of Gaiman’s short stories are definitely semi-autobiographical and he does feature characters based on people from his life. Tolkien would make an interesting subject too.
Sakura
April 19th, 2010 @ 4:44 pm

I would love to see a story about Simone de Beauvoir, just to get inside her head.
Paperback Reader
April 20th, 2010 @ 12:14 pm

Sakura, great choice! Simone de Beauvoir is a fascinating woman (if you read the Angela Carter article that I linked to in my Wayward Girls and Wicked Women then there are some interesting points about de Beavoir in comparison to Colette).
Carter Collation Post III | Paperback Reader
April 20th, 2010 @ 12:32 pm

[...] will be an extenuation of the Angela Carter celebrations; there is also some time left to enter my draw for a copy of Black [...]
Paperback Reader
April 21st, 2010 @ 12:49 pm

***This competition is now closed*** The winner is Sakura! Congratulations and please email me your details.
Carter Collation Post IV | Paperback Reader
April 24th, 2010 @ 12:12 pm

[...] week I also drew the winner of the Black Venus draw and congratulations goes to Sakura! Please contact me to arrange delivery of your [...]