The Curse of the Wer.. - Site de Thomas - Free

Preface
I have to confess that in the course of writing this book I learned to
dread the inevitable question, ‘What is your research about?’ Anyone
working in the arts or humanities knows the difficulty of justifying
projects in these fields to people who want to know what is being
produced in material, economically quantifiable terms, and the spectacle
of a woman writing a book on werewolves, in its apparently blatant
disregard for such values, has been guaranteed to evoke indignation
and incredulity from some quarters. Even those professing a nostalgically
humanist commitment to nurturing the arts and humanities have
often raised an eyebrow when I’ve disclosed the spectacularly lowbrow
focus of my project. As a result I’ve often tried an evasive approach
to queries about the nature of my work, mumbling something about
‘Gothic literature’ — but there has nearly always been a friend or relative
nearby who has been only too happy to elaborate for the benefit of the
enquiring party: ‘It’s about werewolves.’
It is ironic, however, that once the mandatory amazement, disbelief
or disapproval has been expressed, most people, although relatively
uninterested in my earnest attempts to assure them of the value of
my research, have been fascinated by its genesis. ‘Why did you choose