Weird tales: The shifting role of science and religion in literature’s search for truth

In this chapter, two recent readings of two key literary texts in the ‘Science and Religion in Literature’ field, Shelley’s Frankenstein and Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, are considered as contributions to literature’s search for truth: Greenaway’s Theology, Horror and Fiction and Alder’s Weird Fiction and Science at the Fin de Siècle. A reading of Robertson’s modern novel, The Fanatic, is then offered which draws on insights from both. It is argued that the ‘weird’ might offer a perspective which reflects and deflects scientific and theological concerns about literature’s ability to access truth. The literary presentation of the historical figure of Major Thomas Weir is the focus for a discussion of this approach.