The book explores the recurring theme of living-dead characters in the realist literature of Balzac and Zola, as well as in Baudelaire's modern poetry. It examines how these figures symbolize the struggle against the forces of industrialization and the inescapable nature of the past. Through various manifestations—like communicating skeletons and haunting ghosts—Dorothy Kelly analyzes the significance of these images in the works of these authors, revealing deeper meanings and connections within the context of their time.
