Cimorene

I think you're right! I have gotten that impression before, although it's hard to put my finger on where it comes from.

But precisely because science was already very clear by the time he was writing, I still find it difficult at times to get my head around the fact that he managed to find the immensity of reality and the insignificance of humanity that novel at that time. I mean, the idea that you can accidentally turn around and come nose-to-nose with reality and faint from surprise because you forgot it was there implies a disturbing lack of attention to reality on a daily basis, you know?

And it does seem that their style of existential horror, or whatever the proper word is, has faded pretty far out of popularity these days and mostly seems quaint... even though as I was writing the above paragraph I quickly realized that there are plenty of people whom it continues to apply to now. Perhaps that's more because it takes another level of effort to live in denial about it now, so the denial has to look different...