'Fantastic Metamorphoses, Other Worlds' explores stories of transformation, in poetry, fiction, and painting. Myths and tales of metamorphosis, from Leda and the swan to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, command great excitement and pleasure among readers, yet the idea of shape-changing threatens personal identity at a profound level. The book explores this paradox, and shows how new ideas about human personality, such as the zombie and the doppelganger, develop in the
encounter between cultures.
