With contributions from various experts, this is an interdisciplinary approach to the global phenomenon that is the Twilight series, which has evolved well beyond the novels by Stephenie Meyer. This anthology contains in-depth film analyses, gender perspectives, economic and literary studies of the book market, and several articles on fans and fandom as well as contributions investigating vampire fiction traditions and vampire religious beliefs. A theoretically well-founded study, this volume maps the contemporary cultural experience surrounding Twilight and discusses multiple themes, such as fear of aging, vampire ethics and the cross-generational appeal.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1 - The body project
  • First Sight
  • Body and identity
  • Consuming bodies
  • Like a natural woman
  • Salvation
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 2 - Loving you is like loving the dead
  • The feminine vampire as a sexual predator
  • Hard, cool, and desirable
  • A whiter shade of pale
  • Becoming the (un)dead body
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 3 - ‘I know what I saw’
  • Desire, gaze, and traditional blockbuster material
  • Erotic tension and abstinence porn
  • Investigative gaze
  • Shot/reverse shot
  • The objectification of the male
  • Notes
• CHAPTER 4 - Fear of ageing – negotiating age
  • Age as play and norm
  • Youth equals beauty
  • Age differences in relationships
  • Ageing and fertility
  • Growing up
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 5 - Managing the self
  • The vampire as means of exposure
  • Facing the threshold
  • A self created out of adversity
  • Bride and groom – the fulfilment of the quest
  • Exposing me, exposing you
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 6 - Reading for plot, character, and pleasure
  • Genres, plotlines, and heroines
  • Questions and answers
  • The internal focalization
  • Emotional and cognitive play
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 7 - Gazing, initiating, desiring
  • The vampire gaze – objectification and equality
  • ‘Why on earth haven’t we done this before?’
  • Alternative desire
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 8 - Negotiating norms of gender and sexuality online
  • In the light of gender theory
  • Gender norms
  • Sexual norms
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 9 - ‘I want Twilight information to grow in my head’
  • The creation of fandom
  • The novels – the Real Thing
  • Fan sites, Google, Twitter, and Facebook
  • Communication
  • Identity and meaning
  • The rise of very strong emotions
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 10 - Living life her way: The multifunctionality of the film-star interview
  • Film stars in fashion magazines
  • Fashion magazine celebrity interviews
  • Kristen Stewart interviewed
  • The cover
  • Meeting the star – dress, demeanour, and the special moment
  • Film culture – behind the scenes
  • The fashion photo-story
  • From Bella Swan to Kristen Stewart
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 11 - Gendered readings
  • Bella’s books, or why teenage girls read
  • Gendered readers – being Bella
  • Bella on the market – female literary consumption
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 12 - Kidult readers
  • Harry Potter and the kidult reader
  • Children’s literature – a historical perspective
  • From hysterical females to mom’s guilty pleasures
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 13 - Selling, giving, sharing: Stephenie Meyer’s logic of authorship in literary market success
  • Theoretical underpinnings
  • Stephenie Meyer’s logic of authorship
  • Permeating the narrative
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 14 - ‘I’m with the vampires, of course’
  • Vampire novels and films in horror theories
  • Vampires in Twilight
  • The narrative of Twilight
  • Stylistic elements of Twilight
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 15 - Damnation or salvation?
  • Edward Cullen as Byronic hero
  • Byronesque indulgence
  • Vampirism
  • Religion
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
• CHAPTER 16 - The vampire as a religious phenomenon
  • Beliefs in vampires
  • WWBD?
  • Summary
  • Notes
  • References
• Contributors