Contents -- Introduction 9 -- Chapter 1 Ancient and Medieval Memory Techniques: Entering the Memory Palace 17 -- Alphabet- and number-systems 21 -- division and arrangement (22) -- association and image making (24) -- Extensions of the Memory Palace: Geometric Shapes and Memory Journeys 27 -- geometric shapes (27) -- journey method (31) -- Direct Literary Appropriation: Allegory 34 -- Memory and the Page 39 -- design (39) -- Conclusion: Creative Thinking 45 -- Chapter 2 Medieval Literature: Geoffrey Chaucer and William Langland 47 -- Chaucer - The House of Fame 52 -- the temple of venus (53) -- the palace of fame (55) -- the house of rumours (58) -- Chaucer - Troilus and Criseyde 59 -- the journey method (61) -- the town map (66) -- Langland - Piers Plowman 68 -- memory references (69) -- the backgrounds: personifications (72) -- the images: metaphors and figures (77) -- mnemonic structures (82) -- Chapter 3 Modern Memory Concepts: Neuropsychology and Literary Theory 87 -- Neuropsychology 89 -- pattern or network (90) -- a shared terminology (91) -- chunking and spatial awareness (93) -- criticism of the ancient art of memory (95) -- Neuropsychology and Storytelling 98 -- integration into existing memory structures (100) -- the word and the image (102) -- creative thinking (104) -- Neuropsychology and Literary Criticism 107 -- suzanne nalbantian (108) -- john s. rickard (111) -- renate lachmann (115) -- conclusion (117) -- Chapter 4 The Modern English Novel: Salman Rushdie and Angela Carter 119 -- unreliable narration and memory (119) -- seven memory sins and literature (121) -- Salman Rushdie - Expanding Views 124 -- collective memory (126) -- rushdie's leitmotif - bartlett's anchor points (127) -- imaginary landscapes (129) -- typical backgrounds (130) -- three backgrounds in midnight's children (133) -- background 1: a kashmiri valley (133).

background 2: the pioneer café (136) -- background 3: the purgatorial jungle (139) -- identity and the loss of self (141) -- conclusion (143) -- Angela Carter - The Stage and the Swan 144 -- artificial memory (145) -- nights at the circus (147) -- typical backgrounds (147) -- surrealist influences (150) -- blurring the edges (152) -- the stage background and the swan image (156) -- conclusion (163) -- Chapter 5 The Modern US Novel: Thomas Pynchon and Paul Auster 165 -- Thomas Pynchon - Vineland: An Exercise in Remembering 166 -- confusing chronology and paranoia (167) -- entirely reliable memories (170) -- pastoral backgrounds (178) -- urban backgrounds (181) -- the memory map (182) -- architectural memory (185) -- the memory journey 1: the chain (187) -- the memory journey 2: crossings (188) -- Paul Auster - Moon Palace: Renaissance Mysticism 191 -- Step 1: Auster's concept of memory 191 -- the renaissance art of memory (192) -- historical remembrance or creative process? (194) -- history (195) -- creativity (198) -- Step 2: Backgrounds and their significance 200 -- the significance of the physical setting (200) -- the significance of space (201) -- the memory palace 1: mental spaces (203) -- the memory palace 2: the room (205) -- Step 3: Background connections 208 -- memory systems as literary patterns 1: word association (209) -- memory systems as literary patterns 2: the memory map (211) -- Step 4: Image and interpretation 213 -- interpreting the painting (214) -- interpreting the novel (216) -- the meaning of images (217) -- conclusion (220) -- Conclusion 223 -- the theory (223) -- the practical application (224) -- The Memory Palace Method 225 -- Step 1. The general concept of memory 225 -- Step 2. The particular type of background 227 -- Step 3. The structural connection of backgrounds 229 -- categorisation of systems (229).

alphabet- and number-systems (231) -- the journey method (233) -- the memory map (233) -- the memory building (235) -- summary (236) -- Step 4. The significance of images 236 -- topics not mentioned or only lightly touched upon (239) -- Bibliography 243.