The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story (Oxford World's Classics)

First published in 1764, Horace Walpole's dark and melodramatic novel is widely considered the very first Gothic novel, containing within its pages all the familiar (and by today's standards, clichéd) elements of the genre. Expect a spooky old castle, an ancient prophecy, dark portends, women that faint often and with little cause, a dysfunctional family whose members can't decide whether to love or hate each other, haunted portraits, secret tunnels and trapdoors, manic tyrants, endangered virgins, ghostly visages, and young heroes that put honor before reason, and whose obsession with virtue prevents them from doing anything particularly helpful. It's vintage Gothic: intense emotions running wild, thrill-seeking in the reader's pursuit of the supernatural horror, and a heavy, foreboding atmosphere.

The story was first purported to be a translation of an Italian document dated 1529 which in turn was a transcription of an older story that took place some time during the crusades. Walpole later amended this in a later preface, admitting that he wrote the story himself (in fact, his inspiration came from a dream in which he glimpsed a gigantic armored hand on a stairwell) and that his intentions were in blending the ancient and modern forms of Romance: "in the former all was imagination and improbability: in the latter, nature is always intended to be copied. Invention has not been wanting, but the great resources of fancy have been damned up, by strict adherence to common life. But if in the latter species Nature has cramped imagination, she did but take her revenge, having been totally excluded from old romances. The author of the following pages thought it possible to reconcile the two kinds."

Whether Wadpole was successful in this endeavor is incidental. The importance of "The Castle of Otranto" is that in this mingling of old and new, the Gothic genre was born.

Prince Manfred of Otranto has a faithful wife, a beautiful daughter, and a sickly son, yet as is often the way with tyrants, he is dissatisfied. His son is about to marry Princess Isabella, daughter of the Marquis of Vincenza, but on the day of the wedding Conrad is killed in mysterious circumstances. Actually, make that "bizarre" circumstances: he's been crushed under a giant helmet that seems to have fallen out of nowhere.

Cutting his losses, Manfred arrests a young man for the murder of his son, and decides to divorce his wife Hippolita and marry Isabella himself, a proposition that horrifies the girl who was to become his daughter-in-law. Isabella makes her escape into the shadowed catacombs of the palace, Hippolita and Matilda fret about their future, and the servants live in terror of the apparitions appearing throughout the castle: the oversized arms and legs of an armored giant (who is somehow finding a way to hide whenever anyone's back is turned).

It's difficult to really assess this book. It many ways it is totally outdated in terms of story and character, and is really only valuable for its historical significance. Although I could not say I "enjoyed" reading it, I nevertheless found it "entertaining," as odd as that distinction may seem. When it comes to the characters' emotions, there's a lot of telling rather than showing, and many of the main cast is thoroughly insipid, frustrating and unsympathetic (even those who are meant to be the heroes).

For example, Theodore is our male lead, who makes catastrophic mistakes throughout the story (usually due to an inability to keep his mouth shut) and who eventually makes the decision to be miserable for the rest of his life, desiring only to "forever indulge the melancholy that had taken possession of his soul." If a character is depressed, it's probably because they're in love; which is how Theodore experiences his ardor toward Matilda (even though I'm not entirely sure how he tells her apart from Isabella). All the women are submissive, delicate martyrs, who consider it an honor to be walked all over by their male counterparts, and sigh with angelic resignation in the face of mistreatment. Comic relief comes in the form of the shrewd and wily servants, who seem to be well-aware of how ridiculous their masters and mistresses are.

And some of the dialogue is downright hysterical, such as: "My dearest, gracious lord, what is it you see? Why do you fix your eyeballs thus?" Obviously, it's very easy to make fun of the Gothic genre (Jane Austen herself did it in [[ASIN:030738683X Northanger Abbey]]) simply because it relies so much on melodrama. Despite the negative connotations, melodrama *can* be done well, and despite my heckling, Walpole pulls it off...for the most part. But don't just think it's 21st century cynicism casting its shadow over the literary past, even many of Walpole's contemporary critics dismissed "The Castle of Otranto" as an absurdity.

An absurdity it may well be, but keeping in mind the author's intentions and its place within the Gothic canon, Walpole's efforts are worthy of attention. This is not the heights of Gothic literature, but it is the forefather of the genre, and for that reason alone it has value.

This book is famous not because it's good, but because the guy who wrote it was an absolute nut and he basically started the Gothic genre. So this is a book to read for history's sake, understanding that it is ridiculous nonsense. With that in mind, it's a pretty fun book

I like to read 19th century gothic literature for as a personal endeavor and I thought my collection would be incomplete if I didn't read what's often considered the first gothic novel. This was written in the late 1700s but it's not like reading for school;it's actually a good novella. It's a pretty short read and is almost comical at points but it's entertaining. The characters don't really have much development even for a short story but the story chugs along fast enough you don't really notice that much. Also, just like with all other Oxford World Classics (OWC), this has really good scholarship and context for the story. If you're going to get any version of this, definitely go with OWC

For a short story a lot happens but I felt that the characters where not developed enough for my tastes. Perhaps that is a gothic trait but I did enjoy the book.

Mentioned in Jane Austen. Wanted to read materials that she would have read. Quite tedious reading. Glad authors have gotten better over the years.

I have long known about this book, because it is often mentioned as the first Gothic novel. Published in 1764, the story inspired many a writer of the time, and its influence extends even up to today. (Or so I have read!) I like Gothic novels, so I finally decided to read the Founding Father.

Indeed, here we find many of the stock elements of the genre: an ancient, many-roomed castle with secret passages and subterranean vaults, mysterious and ghostly happenings, long-buried secrets, hidden identities, a curse on a family, fair and virtuous damsels in distress, a dastardly and vile villain with evil designs, and a manly and brave young hero.

Yes, the elements are all here, but the result for this modern reader is not what Walpole intended, nor indeed what was evidently experienced by readers of the time. Instead of finding the book to be creepy or scarey or suspenseful, I found it to be quite funny, almost as if it were a spoof of the Gothic. I concede that one must give Walpole credit for coming up with a new scenario and a fresh combining of realism and fantastical romanticism, but I don't believe he was a very good writer.

The story begins on the wedding day of the fair Isabella to the sickly Conrad, son of Manfred, Prince of Oranto. Before the ceremony can begin, (get ready for this!) a giant (we're talking really, really big) helmet falls out of the sky and crushes the proposed groom. This happens on page 2, and it was impossible for me to take the book seriously from then on.

As it turns out, Manfred himself has designs on the fair Isabella, and she has to flee through underground passages to escape his unnatural desires. A myriad of new characters and new manifestations of the supernatural occur before all ends well (kind of).

I would recommend this novel purely on its academic interest as the progenitor of a genre, but for thrills and chills and even for immersion in a story, it fails abysmally.