It’s about time I wrote a post solely centered on the very first Gothic novel. I’m aiming for this to be the first in a new series of posts, much like my Gothic Tropes series. In this new Classics series, I will be discussing classic works from the original Gothic literary movement in greater depth, providing plot summaries, context, and a discussion of the work’s influence on the genre. And where better to start than at the very beginning? The Castle of Otranto was the very first novel to adopt the mantle of “Gothic.” Published in 1764 by English author and art historian Horace Walpole, the novel initially tried to pass itself off as a newly discovered Italian manuscript of far older origin. With its second edition, the story was acknowledged to be a modern creation and was subtitled “A Gothic Story,” thus giving a name to the genre it would soon inspire. Continue reading Classics: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Tag: The castle of Otranto
The Roots of Gothic Literature
The term “Gothic” (with a capital G) refers to an era of literature and its accompanying trend in architecture during the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century. Both the literary and architectural movements were characterized by a return to medieval aesthetics. Fashionable English aristocrats, such as Horace Walpole, began to fill their estates with highly ornamented turrets and towers reminiscent of medieval churches.
Meanwhile, many authors began to abandon the Enlightenment principles of rationality and reason in favor of exploring the pleasure that can be found in emotions like terror. The original Gothic stories featured Gothic castles, abbeys, and ruins of the sort that were now being recreated and were often set in a vaguely medieval past. They generally included elements of the supernatural in reaction against the recent trend of realism and were characterized by melodrama, mystery, and suspense. Listed below are some of the seminal works of early Gothic fiction. Continue reading The Roots of Gothic Literature