The Castle of Otranto is another gothic novel, but it is rather short so I think “novella” may be more appropriate. It is like The Mysteries of Udolpho, and again, it is quite good. And it took me less than 3 days to read so it must be short!
I don’t know where the castle of Otranto is located, but Wikipedia alleges there is a real place called Otranto. I imagine that it is in Italy somewhere. In this book, there are ghostly apparitions, secret passages, and chance encounters. It is the story of a rich family for whom an ancient prophecy foretells the removal of their family from the estate. Manfred, the prince and father figure for that family, succumbs to some of his unworthier vices upon the death of his only son. He seeks to divorce his wife and marry the young girl betrothed to his late son. Not everyone is happy at the prospect of this arrangement so you can imagine where the subsequent plot turns.
There are more gothic novels that are mentioned in Northanger Abbey, and all that I have read have been good so far. Wikipedia reports that the gothic novels in Northanger Abbey are called the ‘Northanger Horrid Novels’ (search for ‘gothic fiction’), and there are several more in that list! I’m out of gothic novels that are available at gutenberg.org, so I’m going to have to follow up with the library if I want to read anymore. And I do.
Tags: books, gothic novels, reading