Aurora Teagarden, the Cozy and the Southern Gothic
Edited book (chapter)
Gildersleeve, Jessica. 2021. "Aurora Teagarden, the Cozy and the Southern Gothic." Betz, Phyllis M. (ed.) Reading the Cozy Mystery: Critical Essays on an Underappreciated Subgenre. Jefferson, United States. McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 156-168
| Chapter Title | Aurora Teagarden, the Cozy and the Southern Gothic |
|---|---|
| Book Chapter Category | Edited book (chapter) |
| ERA Publisher ID | 8273 |
| 2605 | |
| Book Title | Reading the Cozy Mystery: Critical Essays on an Underappreciated Subgenre |
| Authors | |
| Author | Gildersleeve, Jessica |
| Editors | Betz, Phyllis M. |
| Page Range | 156-168 |
| Chapter Number | 9 |
| Number of Pages | 13 |
| Year | 2021 |
| Publisher | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| McFarland Publishers | |
| Place of Publication | Jefferson, United States |
| ISBN | 9781476677279 |
| 9781476641690 | |
| Web Address (URL) | https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/reading-the-cozy-mystery/ |
| Abstract | This chapter considers the extent to which the Aurora Teagarden novels and their Hallmark adaptations (2015-present) commit to such reassurance and stability through two main arguments. First, I suggest that rather than upholding the genre, the Aurora Teagarden book series seeks to destabilize the veracity of the cozy: that is, the very possibility of the genre as in any way associated with something like ‘real life’ by increasingly permitting the intrusion of the violence and darkness of the Gothic as the series progresses. Despite its efforts, the cozy cannot keep these invasions out: the Gothic asserts its primacy over the tamer genre. By associating violent crime with the leisure activity of the ‘Real Murders Club’, as well as with librarian Aurora’s love of crime fiction, the novels show how we attempt to put those disruptions at a distance, making them safe by their association with story. |
| Keywords | the cozy, mystery, crime fiction, Aurora Teagarden, Charlaine Harris, adaptation |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 470527. Popular and genre literature |
| 470214. Screen and media culture | |
| 470514. Literary theory | |
| Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
| Byline Affiliations | School of Humanities and Communication |
| Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
Permalink -
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q6441/aurora-teagarden-the-cozy-and-the-southern-gothic
183
total views12
total downloads5
views this month0
downloads this month
Export as
Related outputs
A Child Killer, Parenting Struggles, and 'Innies' Running Wild: What to Stream in April
Richards, Stuart, Harrington, Erin, Camp, Gregory, Ford, Jessica, Gildersleeve, Jessica, Cantrell, Kate, Giuffre, Liz and Morrell, Sascha. 2025. "A Child Killer, Parenting Struggles, and 'Innies' Running Wild: What to Stream in April ." The Conversation.Stepmums, alien mums, robot mums, vengeful mums: 7 films to watch this Mother’s Day
Gildersleeve, Jessica, Cantrell, Kate, Williams, Kathleen, Allmark, Panizza, Beirne, Rebecca, Elkington, Ruari and Hopkins, Susan. 2025. "Stepmums, alien mums, robot mums, vengeful mums: 7 films to watch this Mother’s Day ." The Conversation.Justice on demand? The true crime podcasts serving up Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial
Cantrell, Kate and Gildersleeve, Jessica. 2025. "Justice on demand? The true crime podcasts serving up Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial ." The Conversation.Gender minority stress, resilience, and coping experiences of trans women incarcerated in Australia
du Plessis, Carol, Sanders, Tait, Gildersleeve, Jessica, Mullens, Amy, Olczak, Adam and Bromdal, Annette. 2025. "Gender minority stress, resilience, and coping experiences of trans women incarcerated in Australia." International Journal of Transgender Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2025.2487015"When This Hurt Heals": Hope, Humanity, and Cultural Haunting in Cargo
Gildersleeve, Jessica and Cantrell, Kate. 2025. ""When This Hurt Heals": Hope, Humanity, and Cultural Haunting in Cargo." Bacon, Simon (ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of the Zombie. Cham. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1-15The Strategies of Picture Books as a Mode of Health Communication for Young Children with Coeliac Disease
McKeon, Lydia, Gildersleeve, Jessica and Mullens, Amy B.. 2025. "The Strategies of Picture Books as a Mode of Health Communication for Young Children with Coeliac Disease." Children. 12 (5), p. 530. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12050530Manifesto, theory, rant: Yumna Kassab's 'post-novels' have a bit of everything
Gildersleeve, Jessica. 2025. "Manifesto, theory, rant: Yumna Kassab's 'post-novels' have a bit of everything ." The Conversation."I Know the Degradation, the Humiliation around Being Incarcerated and Ostracized, and Marginalized, and Sexualized"
Phillips, Tania, Clark, Kirsty A., Bromdal, Annette, Mullens, Amy, Sanders, Tait, Halliwell, Sherree, Gildersleeve, Jessica, Daken, Kirstie, Debattista, Joseph, du Plessis, Carol, Simpson, Paul and Hughto, Jaclyn M.W.. 2025. ""I Know the Degradation, the Humiliation around Being Incarcerated and Ostracized, and Marginalized, and Sexualized"." Maycock, Matthew, O‘Shea, Saoirse and Jenness, Valerie (ed.) Transgender People Involved with Carceral Systems: International Perspectives. United Kingdom. Routledge. pp. 21-45We Now Know 'Troubled Teen' Memoirs Like Go Ask Alice Were a Mormon Wife's Fiction – So Why Are We Still Treating Them as Truth?
Cantrell, Kate and Gildersleeve, Jessica. 2024. "We Now Know 'Troubled Teen' Memoirs Like Go Ask Alice Were a Mormon Wife's Fiction – So Why Are We Still Treating Them as Truth?" The Conversation.Woman of the Hour: Anna Kendrick's Unflinching Directorial Debut Reframes True Crime for a Post-#MeToo Era
Cantrell, Kate, Gildersleeve, Jessica and Hopkins, Susan. 2024. "Woman of the Hour: Anna Kendrick's Unflinching Directorial Debut Reframes True Crime for a Post-#MeToo Era ." The Conversation.Reading, Reflection, and Resilience in the Study of Australian Literature
Gildersleeve, Jessica, Cantrell, Kate, Bryce, India and Cripps, Camilla. 2024. "Reading, Reflection, and Resilience in the Study of Australian Literature." Journal of Language, Literature and Culture. 71 (1), pp. 123-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/20512856.2024.2427569Naked tennis, outback feuds and a chimp named Tonka: what we're streaming in November
Scarlata, Alexa, Gildersleeve, Jessica, McAlister, Jodi, McWilliam, Kelly, Deller, Marina, Burne, Philippa and Hart, Phoebe. 2024. "Naked tennis, outback feuds and a chimp named Tonka: what we're streaming in November ." The Conversation.Spiritual Vertigo: Illness, Affect and Modernity in Prelude to Christopher
Gildersleeve, Jessica. 2024. "Spiritual Vertigo: Illness, Affect and Modernity in Prelude to Christopher." Morrison, Fiona and Rooney, Brigid (ed.) Time, Tide and History: Eleanor Dark's Fiction. Australia. Sydney University Press. pp. 111-123Where do incarcerated trans women prefer to be housed and why? Adding nuanced understandings to a complex debate through the voices of formerly incarcerated trans women in Australia and the United States
Bromdal, Annette, Sanders, Tait, Stanners, Melinda, du Plessis, Carol, Gildersleeve, Jessica, Mullens, Amy B., Phillips, Tania M., Debattista, Joseph, Daken, Kirstie, Clark, Kirsty A. and Hughto, Jaclyn M. W.. 2024. "Where do incarcerated trans women prefer to be housed and why? Adding nuanced understandings to a complex debate through the voices of formerly incarcerated trans women in Australia and the United States." International Journal of Transgender Health. 25 (2), pp. 167-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2023.2280167Correctional staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward incarcerated trans people: A scoping review of an emerging literature
Daken, Kirstie, Excell, Tarra, Clark, Kirsty A., Hughto, Jaclyn M. W, Sanders, Tait, Debattista, Joseph, du Plessis, Carol, Mullens, Amy, Phillips, Tania, Gildersleeve, Jessica and Bromdal, Annette. 2024. "Correctional staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward incarcerated trans people: A scoping review of an emerging literature ." International Journal of Transgender Health. 25 (2), pp. 149-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2023.2265386A Kid Called Troy at 30: This Beautiful Aussie Film was one of the Most Important HIV/AIDS Documentaries Ever Produced
Gildersleeve, Jessica, Mullens, Amy, Bromdal, Annette, Cantrell, Kate and Sanders, Tait. 2023. "A Kid Called Troy at 30: This Beautiful Aussie Film was one of the Most Important HIV/AIDS Documentaries Ever Produced ." The Conversation.'The Practice of Freedom': Thoughts Towards Realigning the Priorities of Secondary and Tertiary Literature Educators
Gildersleeve, Jessica and Bedford, Alison. 2023. "'The Practice of Freedom': Thoughts Towards Realigning the Priorities of Secondary and Tertiary Literature Educators." Australian Journal of English Education (AJEE). 58 (1), pp. 46-53.Minimizing Harm and Maximizing Benefit: Transforming Learning and Teaching for the Helping Professions
Bryce, Inia, Gildersleeve, Jessica and Cantrell, Kate. 2023. "Minimizing Harm and Maximizing Benefit: Transforming Learning and Teaching for the Helping Professions ." Teaching Beyond the Curriculum - Focus on Pedagogy 2023. 15 - 17 Nov 2023Grunge, Nation and Literary Generations: Christos Tsiolkas and Genre
Gildersleeve, Jessica. 2023. "Grunge, Nation and Literary Generations: Christos Tsiolkas and Genre." Carter, David (ed.) The Cambridge History of the Australian Novel. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press. pp. 488-501“Never Let Anyone Say That a Good Fight for the Fight for Good Wasn’t a Good Fight Indeed”: The Enactment of Agency Through Military Metaphor by One Australian Incarcerated Trans Woman
Halliwell, Sherree, Hickey, Andrew, du Plessis, Carol du, Mullens, Amy B., Sanders, Tait, Gildersleeve, Jessica, Phillips, Tania M., Debattista, Joseph, Clark, Kirsty A., Hughto, Jaclyn M. W., Daken, Kirstie and Bromdal, Annette. 2023. "“Never Let Anyone Say That a Good Fight for the Fight for Good Wasn’t a Good Fight Indeed”: The Enactment of Agency Through Military Metaphor by One Australian Incarcerated Trans Woman." Paner, Heather and Dwyer, Angela (ed.) Transgender People and Criminal Justice: An Examination of Issues in Victimology, Policing, Sentencing, and Prisons. Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 183-212An Open Letter to Students: How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
Cantrell, Kate and Gildersleeve, Jessica. 2023. "An Open Letter to Students: How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable." Sullivan, Patrick, Tinberg, Howard and Blau, Sheridan (ed.) Deep Reading, Deep Learning. New York. Peter Lang Publishing. pp. 367-70From Stage to Page to Screen: The Traumatic Returns of Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife
Prowse, Nycole, Gildersleeve, Jessica and Cantrell, Kate. 2022. "From Stage to Page to Screen: The Traumatic Returns of Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife." Social Alternatives. 41 (3), pp. 30-36. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.719953708416246