Hard-to-Google Lit. Crit. Queries...

[steepholm]

Is there a general term for novels (or other fictions) that contain/mention themselves? I mean, the novel is called The Book of Glum, and it's about someone who turns out to be writing or reading a book called The Book of Glum, or we're at least given to know that this is a world where The Book of Glum already exists?

Also, is there decent existing discussion (in journals or elsewhere) of this phenomenon?

Comments

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I have copies of both by my left foot as I type this! (As far as I know, the existence of the astronomy book has hitherto escaped Mahy scholars.)

At one point a character in Mahy's novel actually stands on the astronomy book, to give him the extra height required to kiss the girl he likes at approximately equal height. I can confirm from my own field work that the book is precisely one inch thick.