The castle of Otranto

a gothic story

No cover

Horace Walpole: The castle of Otranto (1801, Published by David Longworth at the Shakspeare Gallery)

Microform, 216 pages

English language

Published Feb. 23, 1801 by Published by David Longworth at the Shakspeare Gallery.

OCLC Number:
40029121

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This book is the earliest and most influential of the Gothic novels. 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." He gives us a series of catastrophes, ghostly interventions, revelations of identity, and exciting contests. Crammed with invention, entertainment, terror, and pathos, the novel was an immediate success and Walpole's own favorite among his numerous works. - Back cover.

27 editions