As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory of Virtual Reality

Many people throughout the world inhabit imaginary worlds communally and persistently, parsing Harry Potter and exploring online universes. These activities might seem irresponsibly escapist, but history tells another story. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, when Sherlock Holmes
became the world's first virtual reality character, readers began to colonize imaginary worlds, debating serious issues and viewing reality in provisional, as if terms rather than through essentialist, just so perspectives. From Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and Tolkien's Middle-earth to the
World of Warcraft and Second Life, As If provides a cultural history that reveals how we can remain enchanted but not deluded in an age where fantasy and reality increasingly intertwine.


Author: Michael Saler
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 01/09/2012
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780195343175

About the Author

Michael Saler is Professor of History at the University of California, Davis.

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