Gothic Readings: The First Wave, 1764-1840

by Rictor Norton (Editor)

This is an anthology of Gothic literature, set within the context of contemporary criticism and readers' responses. It includes selections from the major practitioners - including Horace Walpole, William Beckford, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Coleridge, William Godwin, Mary Shelley, Charles Robert Maturin and Edgar Allan Poe -and many of their followers as well as contemporary reviews, private letters and diaries, chapbooks, and contemporary anecdotes about dramatic performances and the design of theatre sets.

Genres: Literary Criticism, Gothic

369 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book format wasn't quite what I expected. The basic formula is: brief author introduction of the school of writing (Historical Gothic, Radcliffe style, Gothic Horror, etc.) followed by a brief excerpt from an influential piece (The Castle of Otranto, The Monk, Northanger Abbey, etc.).

Since I read a library copy that I was only able to keep for 6 weeks, I ended up having to rush through it a lot faster than would be ideal. It's more a reference book than a read-straight-through book.

The good
- the brief introduction to prominent Gothic works from this period was a great way for me to see what authors/styles appealed to me and which ones aren't my cup of tea. For example, the zaniness of The Castle of Otranto is why I liked it, so reading that Clara Reeve kept the general concept but deliberately subtracted the goofy parts when she wrote The Old English Baron makes me think it's safe for me to skip that one.

- the commentary about Gothic novels within the context of their time was fascinating, the impact of the French Revolution on the thinking behind some of the novels especially. I suspected that Gothic novels were mocked by the powers that be as being silly brain candy for the female folk because that's how things work, but I had no idea that they were also a target for questioning the social order and women's' (dis)empowerment.

"the attack on Gothic novels in the contemporary press was informed by a conservative political ideology. As the Revolution in France degenerated into the wholesale slaughter of the Terror, which seemed to bury the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, much of the reactionary ruling class in England condemned such democratic ideals as leading inevitably to the complete collapse of society. Gothic novels were politically censured as 'the terrorist system of writing', and their authors denounced as Jacobins set on destroying England. Gothic novels were un-English -- and unmanly. Even the less demonstrative women novelists were branded as belonging to 'the Wollstonecraft school' of early feminism." (xi)

The less good
- I was hoping for a little more original criticism by the author. The brief pieces that were included here were insightful and engaging, but they served more to whet my appetite than to sate it.

- some of the works the author references are going to be challenging to find. Like Hubert de Sevrac by Mary Robinson? The excerpt was amazing! But unless I want to read it online or on microform (which I don't), I'm SOL and pouty about it.

[Tracey Madeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is essentially a reproduction of extracts from gothic novels with scant commentary. Some are well known, Ontranto, Udolpho and The Recess, others somewhat obscure, Grasville Abbey, Wieland and The Midnight Bell. There is a section on Literary criticism which contains extracts from reviews at the time and some reader responses to the more popular novels, like The Monk and Udolpho. However, academics can obtain a lot of these from their institutions subscription and many older novels are now available elsewhere in full.

I bought this as a cheap second hand copy and for my purposes it was worth it, as it pointed me towards some different areas, such as Anna Seward, but I would have been aggrieved to have paid full price for it.