Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Martin, Thomas L.
Thesis/Dissertation Co-Chair
Department of English
Abstract
Charles G. Finney’s 1936 novel The Circus of Dr. Lao was published to enthusiastic reviews, but fell into relative obscurity shortly thereafter. Since its publication, it has been the subject of one peer-reviewed critical essay, a number of reviews, one non-peer-reviewed essay, and a master’s thesis. It was published in a world where the fantastic and unique found only barren desert soil, with no scholarly tradition for the fantastic, nor a widely receptive lay audience for something truly unique, or sui generis. The concept of the sui generis, meaning “of its own kind,” provides a useful lens for examining the novel, as Finney develops not only creatures, but people, which are truly of their own kind, borrowing from existing mythologies, traits of humanity, and aspects of nature, recombining them in a singular way which resists classification.
Extent
70 p.
Recommended Citation
White, Adam J., "The sui generis in Charles G. Finney’s The Circus Of Dr. Lao" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 889.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/889
Identifier
FA0004073
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.|Includes bibliography.