Examines Angela Carter's celebration of the marginal, and how that influences both the form and content of her fiction. The text offers critical readings of Carter's fiction and non-fiction, and demonstrates how she wrote to subvert consensus view of any kind.

Examines Angela Carter's celebration of the marginal, and how that influences both the form and content of her fiction. The text offers critical readings of Carter's fiction and non-fiction, including "The Magic Toyshop", "The Passion of New Eve", "The Bloody Chamber" and "Nights at the Circus". It demonstrates how, throughout her career, Carter wrote to subvert consensus view of any kind - in particular, the conception of history as unalterable "master narrative", conventional social codes regarding propriety and "woman's place", and the categorization of literature into "high" and "low" forms.