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The Castle of Otranto

3.14 of 5 stars 3.14 · rating details · 6,083 ratings · 538 reviews

First published pseudonymously in 1764, The Castle of Otranto purported to be a translation of an Italian story of the time of the crusades. In it Walpole attempted, as he declared in the Preface to the Second Edition, "to blend the two kinds of romance: the ancient and the modern." Crammed with invention, entertainment, terror, and pathos, the novel was an immediate succe...more

Paperback, 125 pages

Published July 16th 1998 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published 1764)

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Best Gothic Books Of All Time

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Complete Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

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Mar 14, 2013 Henry Avila rated it 3 of 5 stars

Prince Manfred of Otranto in Italy,is looking forward to the wedding of his only son Conrad.The family name must continue!In these violent times (the era of the Crusades),Italian politics dictates that noblemen have sons, to leave all their land and wealth. It doesn't matter that Conrad is only fifteen and sickly.The family of the Prince is composed of the son Conrad,Matilda the daughter, three years older than her brother and the pious wife of Manfred ,Hippolita .Isabella is the intended bride,...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Shovelmonkey1 rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like falling millinery

Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by: 1001 books list - bastards!

Shelves: 1001-books, bookcrossing-books, epic-snooze-fest, read-in-2010

WARNING: 1001 BOOK THAT THE WRITERS OF THE 1001 BOOKS LIST WANTED TO TORTURE YOU WITH BEFORE YOU DIE

(NB do not assume that said death will be unrelated to the reading of this book.... boredom kills, people.)

This book is very Shakespearian in style and therefore metaphorically and allegorically weighty despite being such a short, light paperback book. I was suckered into reading this because it was a short read. You know how it is, on a whim sometime ago (Christmas 2009), you manfully pledge to r...more WARNING: 1001 BOOK THAT THE WRITERS OF THE 1001 BOOKS LIST WANTED TO TORTURE YOU WITH BEFORE YOU DIE

(NB do not assume that said death will be unrelated to the reading of this book.... boredom kills, people.)

This book is very Shakespearian in style and therefore metaphorically and allegorically weighty despite being such a short, light paperback book. I was suckered into reading this because it was a short read. You know how it is, on a whim sometime ago (Christmas 2009), you manfully pledge to read all the books on the 1001 books to read before you die list. Like a premature New Years resolution for self betterment, but instead of chucking in the booze or fags (that's cigarettes to you folks in the US of A), you decide to acquire an expensive habit rather than giving one up. Many books later and you decide to pseudo-cheat your way to a higher number of 1001 books by picking the shortest books off the list and think yourself clever for doing so.... uh huh.... not so much as it turns out because as with Don DeLillos The Body Artist and The Castle of Otranto, that kind of tactical stratagem of 1001 book cherry picking will come back to bite you on the arse good style.

To say that this book can be difficult to read in places is probably a moderate understatement. My Ye Olde Lingo ear/eye is totally out having abandoned this kind of book after A-Level English Lit was mercifully behind me, so it was like being plunged back into curriculum reading again but without the benefits of a young unscrambled mind to back it up.

First off, weird things happen. Big helmets fall on people. Why? Absolutely no idea. Novel way to kill off someone though I must admit... falling millinery is not an obvious weapon of choice. The rest of the book is more serious. Was the helmet not comedy? Oh.

Mostly I enjoyed the fact that the female characters were very much at the centre of the plot which must have been unusual for the period in which the book was written, although admittedly, it is more the state of their emotions, particularly towards their men-folk which puts them at the heart of this rather than their own characters and motivations. Their lives are dictated by the men around them (most of whom some to be self serving, self aggrandising and unfaithful!).

Manfred gets extra evil baddie points for trying to trade in his wife for a younger model with the rather rubbish excuse that he's only doing it with the country's best interests at heart! Mostly I felt that I'd have enjoyed this more if someone would write this as a screen play and present it in the style of a Carry-On film. I don't know why but it just had that sort of feel to it.

Overall a fairly slog-worthy read. You might find yourself hoping to get squashed by a giant helmet just to put you out of your misery.
(less)

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Jan 27, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-by-of-england, reviewed, boston-janeites

Horace Walpole has inspired me to dance! Woo-Hoo! I finished his book! Yes! Party! Where’s the sangria?

There is something about the eighteenth century Gothics that really make you want to celebrate when you’re through with them. I think it’s the sheer absurdity of them. To the modern reader, this stuff doesn’t make any sense, but to a contemporary? That’s what fascinates me. I’m baffled, repelled, and drawn to it. What readers would have enjoyed this book (and, readers, let me tell you, Walpole...more

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May 15, 2010 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jzhunagev (who loves horror genre)

Recommended to K.D. by: 501 Must Read Books and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Shelves: 1001-core, 501, gothic

Somewhere in north of England. Between the era of the first crusade, 1095 and 1243, the date of the last. In a old castle called the Otranto. The story opened with the Conrad, 15-y/o son and only heir of Otranto's prince, Manfred was killed by the helmet of a statue of the previous prince Alfonso. On that day, Conrad was about to marry Princess Isabelle. With no other heir and to save his lordship, Manfred thought of divorcing his wife, Hipollita and offered himself to be Isabelle's husband. The...more Somewhere in north of England. Between the era of the first crusade, 1095 and 1243, the date of the last. In a old castle called the Otranto. The story opened with the Conrad, 15-y/o son and only heir of Otranto's prince, Manfred was killed by the helmet of a statue of the previous prince Alfonso. On that day, Conrad was about to marry Princess Isabelle. With no other heir and to save his lordship, Manfred thought of divorcing his wife, Hipollita and offered himself to be Isabelle's husband. The latter refused and what went next was like a hide-and-seek game in a gothic and scary castle of Otranto.

First published in 1764 (200 years before I was born), this novel is considered as the FIRST true gothic fiction. According to Wikipedia, Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Just having a chance to have read the first book that started the genre is just amazing. If not for this novel, there would have not been the more popular works by Bram Stoker, Daphne de Maurier or my favorite Edgar Allan Poe.

This is Mr. Walpole's only novel. The book is short (115 pages) and fast-paced. There is just a lengthy introduction and two prefaces (1st and 2nd editions). What struck me was the knowledge that, afraid that this genre would not sell, Mr. Walpole lied that this was a manuscript found in an ancient library of a catholic family (translation: that he did not write it). In the other edition, perhaps the first printing was a success, he said that the whole story was his dream or hallucination. If only he would knew that after more than 200 years, people would still be reading his book as it is part of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, 501 Must Read Books, etc. After all, it started a genre. How many books can claim to have started a new genre?

There is a statement somewhere not to read this book at night as it is guaranteed to keep you aware and scared. However, maybe I am too old for that and the El Nino heat is stronger to keep you awake than having nightmares. (less)

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Feb 28, 2009 Peter added it

Taken out of historical context, The Castle of Otranto is a fun escape into knights, maidens, curses, magic, dynasties, rivalries, and terror. It was, as Horace Walpole argued in one of his introductions, an attempt to establish a new gothic style of writing. In this way, the novel is a comic thriller. It presents realistic reactions to imaginary actions, and it injects comedy to counter to grim tragedy.

But taken in historical context, the novel seems to respond to formative events in Walpole’s...more

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Sep 01, 2007 A. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who love thinking or saying, "Uh...wtf?"

Good old Horace Walpole. Like any literary figure, historians are niggling over the "is he or isn't he" details, but why isn't anyone looking into his freakish obsession with Gothic castles? His goal: "I am going to build a little Gothic castle at Strawberry Hill", and he asked his friends for any fragments of old painted glass, armour, or anything. And thus was born Strawberry Hill, the baby Castle of Otranto.

Otranto (the book) came from that foggy time when novels, while trying to present them...more

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Jun 07, 2008 Ben Debus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Having spent three years in Bloomington getting drunk with fiction writers, I feel that I came dangerously close to losing my ability to appreciate trash. But, thankfully, not so! _The Castle of Otranto_, by Horace Walpole, is not only trash, but ground-breaking, historical, trend-setting trash. It is lauded as the first Gothic novel in English (published, anonymously at first, in 1764). And what a remarkable heap of words it is!

_The Castle of Otranto_ is preposterous, both in content and struct...more

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Feb 25, 2008 The Fza rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to The Fza by: Charrolee thompson

Shelves: classics, favorites, fiction, speculative-fiction

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

I was given this book to read with the preface, "I was not a fan, but I have a feeling you'd like this." And all of a sudden I was in an old world made new... to me.

The Castle of Otranto has a history as interesting and strange as the tale w/in it's pages. Know as the first Gothic Novel (Gothic fiction is a genre of literature that combines horror, romance and mystery offset by elements of fantasy), the book was purported to be a translation based on a manuscript printed near Na...more

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Feb 02, 2011 Bill Kerwin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 18th-c-brit, gothic, weird-fiction, libertines-dandies-decadents

This granddaddy of all Gothics is still worth a read. It has its flaws, but Walpole's style is crisp and economical, and the book itself is mercifully brief. Manfred possesses all the important features of the classic gothic hero that Mrs. Radcliffe and others would later use to great advantage, and the initial scenes--particularly the surrealistic tableau of Udolpho's heir flattened by a gigantic helmet and the exciting sequence of Isabella's flight through the castle's subterranean darkness--a...more

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Jun 03, 2011 ☽ Moon ☯ 佛月球 Будда Луны rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A SPECTRE OF FATE [An Ominous Prophecy? As The Past Devours The Future Through The Pure Present]

The Present is the result of Past Events that move towards a Definite Future.

Highlighted by the presence of superior forces, apparition of ghosts, the culmination of an ominous prophecy and a protagonist about to succumb to his demise, the perusal of THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO is like a Greek drama unfolding. As Greek tragedies seem to be the blueprint of Horace Walpole to create this Gothic novel.

In Murak...more A SPECTRE OF FATE [An Ominous Prophecy? As The Past Devours The Future Through The Pure Present]

The Present is the result of Past Events that move towards a Definite Future.

Highlighted by the presence of superior forces, apparition of ghosts, the culmination of an ominous prophecy and a protagonist about to succumb to his demise, the perusal of THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO is like a Greek drama unfolding. As Greek tragedies seem to be the blueprint of Horace Walpole to create this Gothic novel.

In Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, Oshima elucidates the basic motif of Greek tragedies that appeal to men of any generation.
Man doesn't choose fate. Fate chooses man.
It depicts the life of man as a result of destiny conspiring with circumstances, of superior forces mapping out the path of man, the utter absence of choice and the inevitable presence of fate, that man appears to be powerless to fight against what nature has designated for him.

Oshima also states that the pure present is just an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future thus reality looks like only an accumulation of ominous prophecies come to life.

It shows us that there is no point of resisting the inconspicuous hands of nature, to resist is to summon a cataclysmic event to fall, but to adhere to it, is to surrender completely in sublimeness, aligning oneself to the goodness of all.

Walpole seems to have been inspired by this same notion as it appears the most prevalent theme in his work, as his characters appear to be unconsciously guided by that invisible power that hides in the form of coincidence.

The descriptive style is concise and compressed as he blends mysterious elements in the oracular nature of his narration thus captivating the audience and heightening their interest in the very beginning which denotes vividly an impending culmination of an ominous prophecy about to fall on the house of Manfred. The prophetic sound of the omniscient narrator seems to be the tone of destiny itself, as it gives clues to Manfred's inability to run away from his designated future. It seems that the more he run away from it, the more it catches up with him.

As if to say, what should be, must be.

What God has written in stone, let no man asunder. 月亮 луна(less)

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Feb 17, 2011 Milena March rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Otranto Observer:

Prince Gets Squashed by Giant Airborne Helmet! Full News on Page Six!
Lord of Otranto Says - "Sorry, the Castle Ain't Mine!"
FULL Interview with Covergirl Isabella - "He was Never the One for Me!"
Love Advice from Star-Struck Pair! Theodore and Matilda Tell All - How YOU Can Find True Love in Just Ten Seconds!
Jerome and Hippolita's 'Faithful's Corner': Why Entering a Monastery's the Only Way to Go!
The Commoner's Chronicle: Bianca and her Fellows Tell Why THEY'RE the Ones Who S...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic, on-my-bookcase

Despite reading like an overly-dramatic soap opera, I found Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto incredibly entertaining! Walpole had no idea what he was starting when he wrote this novel! He really set the bar for Gothic novels (I'm not saying it wasn't an easy standard to overcome because others after him surely did it better.) There's something to be said though for starting a trend that allowed authors to comment on society, religion, and class without ever really commenting on any of thos...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Burçak :) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cidden gotik bir kitap.. Kasvetli bir şato.. hayaletler.. korkunç olaylar.. tuhaf bir aşk.. herşey güzelde kitabın dili bayağı ağır zor anladım bazı yerleri :P Tabi 100 sayfalık bişey ondan sanırım hikayenin çok eksiği var. Kitap olarak değilde böyle bi kasvetli hikaye okumak isteyenler buyursun :))

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Feb 17, 2009 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lovers of Gothic literature.

Shelves: reviewed, gothic, own

Manfred, the prince of Otranto, is continuously haunted by a prophecy foretelling the demise of his family and the loss of his title, which his ancestors obtained in a less than honorable way. In desperation, he is determined to marry his fifteen-year-old son, Conrad, to the beautiful daughter of a man who has a more legitimate claim to Otranto than Manfred does, in hopes that this will prevent the horrific prophecy from being fulfilled. However, on the very day that the wedding is to take place...more

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May 05, 2013 Bill rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, literary

The First Gothic Novel

Walpole, Horace (1769/2010). The Castle of Otranto. New York: Oxford World Classics.

This very short book (115 pages) was published in 1769, and it defined the Gothic novel form. It is full of murky castles, stormy weather, princes in disguise, swooning maidens, unbelievable coincidences.

It is a very bad novel, by modern literary standards. The characters are stereotypes, the language is contrived and stilted, punctuation is lacking, and the 3P Narrator's promiscuous shiftin...more The First Gothic Novel

Walpole, Horace (1769/2010). The Castle of Otranto. New York: Oxford World Classics.

This very short book (115 pages) was published in 1769, and it defined the Gothic novel form. It is full of murky castles, stormy weather, princes in disguise, swooning maidens, unbelievable coincidences.

It is a very bad novel, by modern literary standards. The characters are stereotypes, the language is contrived and stilted, punctuation is lacking, and the 3P Narrator's promiscuous shifting of point of view makes it hard to follow who is speaking, in some places. The story is so disjointed, it is unintentionally funny at times, verging toward a Monty Python sketch. These literary flaws, by modern standards, highlight just how proscriptive the modern literary form is. In its time, this novel was immensely popular, and I'm sure nobody thought it was badly written. The standards have changed.

Despite its literary badness, the novel is imaginative. For example, in an early scene, a huge armored helmet the size of a room appears out of nowhere and crushes the Prince's son to death. This event is never explained. The disjointed surrealism is bizarre. This strange style raises a question: Why are so many modern novels realistically representational? Even sci-fi is expected to be plausible. What has become of completely wild imagination that creative writers are capable of? Readers today apparently demand realism, or at least, so-called "magical realism." I wonder why the modern novel is so tame?

Walpole probably read David Hume (whose main work was published in 1740). In the first half, he seems to be writing metaphorically about philosophy of mind. The giant helmet is reason (the head) and just beneath the thin floor on which the helmet lands is a labyrinth of murky underground passages (the emotions, sentiments; the unconscious 150 years before Freud?) Another strong theme is political: the arbitrary and capricious power of the state is represented by the Prince of Otranto. So despite its surface silliness, the novel does manage to present important thematic material in metaphor.

The novel is worth reading to get an understanding of how the novel form in English has changed so much in so short a time, and to get a sense of how the "gothic" genre got its start. (less)

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Mar 27, 2013 Saahil rated it 3 of 5 stars

The first Gothic novel, Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto marked the beginnings of a genre that is still prevalent today. The following is a summary of this work.

The novel begins with the impending marriage of Conrad, son the lord of the Castle Otranto, to Isabella. On the day of the marriage, Conrad is mysteriously struck down by a helmet that falls from the sky and crushes his skull and killing him. Remembering the curse set over the inhabitants of Castle of Otranto declaring that, should...more The first Gothic novel, Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto marked the beginnings of a genre that is still prevalent today. The following is a summary of this work.

The novel begins with the impending marriage of Conrad, son the lord of the Castle Otranto, to Isabella. On the day of the marriage, Conrad is mysteriously struck down by a helmet that falls from the sky and crushes his skull and killing him. Remembering the curse set over the inhabitants of Castle of Otranto declaring that, should they become too proud, they will be replaced by another family, Conrad’s father Manfred panics. Afraid that his family is about to be ended, he decides to divorce his wife, Hippolita, because she has failed to give him a healthy son. Instead, he will marry Isabella himself and attempt to continue his line.

But Isabella escapes. Aided by a peasant, Theodore, she manages to escape to Friar Jerome who gives her sanctuary before Manfred can force her into marriage. Infuriated at her attempt to thwart him, Manfred sets out to get Isabella back, but finds Theodore instead and sentences him to death for aiding Isabella. As Theodore is being prepared for execution, Jerome realizes that Theodore is his son. Jerome begs Manfred to spare Theodore’s life and Manfred makes the deal that if Jerome gives Isabella up, Theodore can live.

However, before either can happen, a group of knights arrive on the scene and chaos ensues as the knights are enlisted to help save Isabella from Manfred. Theodore is locked in a tower by Manfred before he joins the race to find Isabella first.

Locked in the tower, helpless, Theodore has lost hope, but he is saved by Matilda, Manfred’s daughter. After Matilda releases him, Theodore joins the race to find Isabella as well and manages to reach her first. One of the knights shows up soon after Theodore arrives and a fight ensues whereby Theodore wounds the knight and it is discovered that he is Isabella’s father, Frederic.

As the inhabitants gather back at the castle of Otranto, it looks like both Isabella and Theodore have escaped the perils of forced marriage and death as Frederic opposes the marriage between Isabella and Manfred. However, Frederic falls for Matilda and a discussion is started between him and Manfred about marrying the other’s daughter. Desperate, neither girl wishes for this to happen and Matilda and Theodore plan to meet in the chapel. Suspecting something is up with Theodore, Manfred assumes that there is a romance between Theodore and Isabella. Going to the chapel to expose them, he takes a dagger and in a jealous rage, he stabs Matilda, mistaking her for Isabella.

Soon afterwards, it is revealed that Theodore is the true Prince of Otranto. While Manfred wallows in self-pity, shame, and despair at the slaughtering of his daughter, Theodore marries Isabella because she understands the sadness he feels.(less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There are so many reasons that this is a great book. The primary reason is that it sets the tone and format for 100 years worth of literature afterwards. Stoker, Mary Shelley and Poe (among others) owe their fame to Walpole. All of the elements of the Gothic novel start here with Walpole. The evil prince, the haunted castle, the damsel in distress, the perturbed spirit that sets things right. Yep, all of that started here.

There's also Walpole's stated purpose from his preface to the second editi...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-pre-1967

I read this as part of the online literature class I'm taking, and I have to admit it wasn't too bad. Historically interesting as it's considered to be the first gothic novel, the one that sparked an entire genre.

The story is entertaining. The writing sounds almost tongue-in-cheek in places although I'm not sure if that was Walpole's intent, the effect of translation or simply my impression as a modern reader. The style is such that you can almost see it being acted out on stage with all the at...more

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Dec 19, 2012 catcarlo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, horror, novel

Romanzo gotico sì, romanzo gotico no. Di sicuro, con i parametri attuali, la seconda che ho scritto: abituati ad ogni sorta di spaventi e malefiche presenze, al giorno d’oggi vediamo in questo breve romanzo nulla più di una storia di gusto medioevale (tra cavalieri in incognito, tiranni felloni e principesse integerrime) il cui svolgimento è condizionato dalle apparizioni – anche abbastanza goffe – di uno spettro. Quando il libro uscì per la prima volta, però, la situazione era differente: nella...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Considered the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole was published in 1764, and is a delightful read. The novel is filled with mystery, damsels in distress, supernatural happenings, and murder, which for its time, I’m sure, shocked the socks of its readers. The book supposedly inspired the likes of Ann Radcliffe, Bram Stoker, and Edgar Allen Poe.

Upon its original release, Walpole pretended the piece was actually a manuscript printed in Italy during the Renaissance and redi...more

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Oct 27, 2012 aobibliophile™ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” - Edgar Allan Poe

generally regarded as the first Gothic novel, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto is about a series of unusual occurrences and ghostly manifestations of gigantic proportions surrounding the demise of Prince Conrad, son of Lord Manfred.
i was surprised to learn that Walpole himself never used the word Gothic to label his work although he did...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Blair rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gothic, mystery

This is the very first Gothic novel (if 100 pages counts as a novel), making it a predecessor to the likes of Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe, etc. The inciting incident is that a young princess, Isabella, is betrothed to the prince Conrad from a neighboring province, and he is crushed by a massive object that falls from the sky on the morning of their wedding. Conrad's unscrupulous father then decides he wants Isabella for his own bride and attempts to force the marriage, thus settin...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Gijs rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, fiction, english, 16th-to-18th-century, british-literature

In een paar dagen op het kasteel van de korzelige en opportunistische Italiaanse prins Manfred gebeurt er vanalles dat duidt op zijn spoedige verval, hoewel hij dat zelf weigert te herkennen.

Deze eerste gothic novel (Walpole noemt het zelf zo) allertijden is een opvallend romantisch werk voor een product uit de het verlichte tijdperk: het bevat onverklaarbare, bovennatuurlijke verschijningen, veel verwijzingen naar Shakespeare, hoog oplopende emoties en een duistere, middeleeuwse setting in een...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Maria rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: university-reading

Ugh this book. If I hadn't had to read this for university, I would not have managed it past the first page!
I've seen a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews of this book. Why I don't understand. This is considered one of the best Gothic fiction novels, but all it did was bore me.
Then piss me off. 'It is not ours to make election for ourselves; heaven, our fathers, and our husbands, must decide for us.' I just wanted to grab Hippolita and shake her while screaming GET.A.GRIP. Im so glad women aren't l...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Insania rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic-horror-fantasy

Il castello di Otranto è stato scritto di getto, in due soli mesi, da Horace Walpole, figlio dell'allora attuale primo ministro inglese, per "distrarsi dalle occupazioni politiche". E il fatto che sia un ripiego per compensare le fatiche del negotium si sente.
Tralasciando gli elementi che al tempo (fine Settecento) dovevano essere clamorosi e di grande impatto ma che oggi risultano un po' fuori luogo e stridono con le aspettative del lettore - e con ciò mi riferisco agli elementi sovrannaturali...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Helen Kitson added it

Shelves: 18c, fiction

First published in 1764, this is widely acknowledged as the first 'gothic novel'. It's a slim book (just over 100 pages) but it's absolutely action-packed. Manfred is as black-hearted a villain as one could wish for, Theodore the archetypal 'noble peasant' who later turns out to have royal blood. Bad things happen to Manfred the usurper: his only son is sickly and is killed on the eve of his wedding; Manfred is unwittingly the agent of his daughter Matilda's death, when he mistakes her for Isabe...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Smcleish rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

Originally published on my blog here in March 2000.

Until you read some Gothic novels, it may seem strange that they are not more popular today, as the origins of the modern horror genre and parts of science fiction and fantasy. Yet the only one which has consistently survived is Frankenstein, and it could certainly be argued that it is not really a Gothic novel. As popular literature, the Gothic novel reflected the tastes of the time, tastes which are not the same as ours today. (More recent pop...more

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Jun 21, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

One of the most ludicrous Penguin Classics, this book reads as if the Monty Python boys had teamed up with Sir Walter Scott and they'd taken a whole bunch o' drugs together. If you're expecting this progenitor of the Gothic novel to have spooky atmosphere, credible shocks and believable characters, stop right there. It's an eighteenth century novel, and that means it's pre-Romantic. The novel was not considered a serious literary form at the time (or at least, not by most people) - real literatu...more

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May 13, 2012 Adam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Until I read a recent review of this book on Goodreads, I had completely forgotten that I had read it many years ago in my late teens.

In those days I was fascinated by Gothic architecture as well as the neo-Gothic architecture of the nineteenth century, or 'Gothic Revival' as it is called by some. The art historian Kenneth Clark claimed in his 1928 book, "The Gothic Revival", that the Gothic tradition never actually died in Britain. He wrote:a tiny stream of the Gothic tradition was never lost,...more

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Apr 24, 2012 David Sarkies rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nobody

Recommended to David by: Adelaide University English Department

Shelves: horror

To put it blunt, this book is rubbish, and I must admit that my English lecturer, when he spoke on this book, pretty much said just as much. In fact, the only reason that they included this book on the reading list is because it has the distinction of being the first gothic horror book written. Okay, maybe it is the first, but it really does very little to make it stand out form among all the other books of much higher quality that were written afterwards. Hey, they even had an essay question o...more To put it blunt, this book is rubbish, and I must admit that my English lecturer, when he spoke on this book, pretty much said just as much. In fact, the only reason that they included this book on the reading list is because it has the distinction of being the first gothic horror book written. Okay, maybe it is the first, but it really does very little to make it stand out form among all the other books of much higher quality that were written afterwards. Hey, they even had an essay question on it.
Anyway, this is a classic example of a child of a very famous person using his father's influence to get rubbish publish. I suspect that it happens quite a lot these days as well, though I must admit that even being able to pull strings to get books published does not necessarily mean that anybody will actually read, and then recommend, the book.
You might actually be wondering who Horace Walpole is, and what is father did to make him so famous. To be quite honest with you, I until I had gone to the lecture on this book, I had never heard of Horace Walpole, or any other Walpoles that he might have been related to, however, if you were living in England in 1764, you certainly would have heard of Robert Walpole, namely because he was, next to the king, the most powerful man in England. In fact, Robert Walpole holds the record for being the longest serving British Prime Minister ever (though I cannot, for the life of me, remember how long he actually served, though I believe that it was something like twenty years). These days, ten years as Prime Minister is an effort, however unless the country has descended into a one party state, it is highly unlikely, in today's political climate, that anybody could last twenty years.
It was not so much different back then either, though the voting franchise was severely restricted, and cabinet appointments were made by the king. Getting elected into parlaiment, especially if you were a member of the aristocratic class, we not just easy, it was a right. There was no universal franchise, or proper electral boundaries. In fact, one could live in an electorate (known as a bourrogh) where the only person who could vote was you, so whenever an election came along, you would vote for yourself (and why not) and you would automatically get elected. However, politicians didn't get paid back then.
I seem to have written nothing about the book, but then again, it is such rubbish, that I personally really don't want to write anything about it. As for the concept of Gothic Horror, in a way it doesn't actually strike any chords in my memory. I guess I do not see any distinction with Gothic Horror. Hell, I can't even define it (not that I really want to) or even jump over to Wikipedia to see if they say anything about it. I guess I am simply not interested in determining any definition for the genre. Okay, there are other 'Gothic Horror' books on my read list, however I would probably just put them more into horror, than Gothic Horror. If anything, though, thinking over the books and films we explored, I suspect Gothic Horror deals more with concepts of horror (much like what I wrote about in Carrie) rather than a simple slasher flick. Silence of the Lambs is a horror (and a very good horror at that) but it is not a slasher flick. Far from it. However, this book is horror in name only. If I really wanted to categorise it, I would probably put it into a category called rubbish, however, that is really what the rating is for.(less)

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About Horace Walpole

Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and politician. He is now largely remembered for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London where he revived the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors, and for his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. Along with the book, his literary reputation rests on his L...more

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Books by Horace Walpole

Three Gothic Novels : The Castle of Otranto ~ Vathek ~ Frankenstein

Four Gothic Novels: The Castle of Otranto; Vathek; The Monk; Frankenstein

Rinehart Editions - The Castle of Otronto, The Mysteries of Udolpho, Northanger Abbey

The Castle of Otranto, Vathek & Nightmare Abbey

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“I can forgive injuries, but never benefits.” — 7 people liked it

“He was persuaded he could know no happiness but in the society of one with whom he could for ever indulge the melancholy that had taken possession of his soul.” — 4 people liked it

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