The Literary Angel

The fictionalized Los Angeles of television's Angel is a world filled with books, texts, and other forms of literature--from the all-important Shansu prophecy that predicts Angel's return to a state of humanity to the ever-present books dominating the characters' research sessions. This book brings together a collection of essays which engage Angel as a text to be addressed within the wider fields of narrative and literature. It is divided into four distinct sections, each with its own internal governing themes and focus, including: archetypes, narrative and identity, theory and philosophy, and genre. Each provides opportunities for readers to examine a wide variety of characters, tropes, and literary nuances and influences throughout all five televised seasons of the series and in the currently running continuation of the series in comic book form.