“Miss Erstwhile, do you enjoy novels?” “I do, yes.” “I know they are naughty things, but I devour novels. The Castle of Otronto had me in chills.” “Yes, how can I forget that giant helmet?” Jane had done her homework on gothic romances a few years ago, thank goodness, in an attempt to appreciate Northanger Abbey. “But Mrs. Radcliffe’s writings are my favorite, particularly The Mysteries of Udolpho.”
