Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, Beckford's Vathek, and Shelley's Frankenstein The Gothic novel, which flourished from about 1765 until 1825, revels in the horrible and the supernatural, in suspense and exotic settings. This volume, with its erudite introduction by Mario Praz, presents three of the most celebrated Gothic novels: The Castle of Otranto, published pseudonymously in 1765, is one of the first of the genre and the most truly Gothic of the three. Vathek (1786), an oriental tale by an eccentric millionaire, exotically combines Gothic romanticism with the vivacity of The Arabian Nights and is a narrative tour de force. The story of Frankenstein (1818) and the monster he created is as spine-chilling today as it ever was; as in all Gothic novels, horror is the keynote. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Three Gothic Novels: The Castle of Otranto; Vathek; Frankenstein

Literature & Fiction

Horace Walpole

William, Beckford

Mary, Shelley

Humor & Satire

Penguin Classics

The founding work of Gothic fiction On the day of his wedding, Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is killed in mysterious circumstances. His calculating father Manfred fears that his dynasty will now come to an end and determines to marry his son's bride himself - despite the fact he is already married. But a series of terrifying supernatural omens soon threaten this unlawful union, as the curse placed on Manfred's ancestor, who usurped the lawful Prince of Otranto, begins to unfold. First published pseudonymously in 1764, purporting to be an ancient Italian text from the time of the crusades, The Castle of Otranto is a founding work of Gothic fiction. With its compelling blend of sinister portents, tempestuous passions and ghostly visitations, it spawned an entire literary tradition and influenced such writers as Ann Radcliffe and Bram Stoker. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Castle of Otranto

United States

Penguin

Thriving during a period of profound revolution in Europe, the British Romantic theatre found itself re-examining social and sexual relations in English society. The five plays collected in this edition--the only one of its kind--represent some of the most radical and unusual examples of the drama created during this period. Horace invented gothic melodrama with his incest tragedy, The Mysterious Mother; Robert Southey imagined the theatre as a site of revolutionary protest in Wat Tyler (1794); Joanna Baillie's psychological case study in aristocratic hatred in De Monfort (1768) was thought too alarming to have been written by a woman, while Elizabeth Inchbald's hugely successful Lover's Vows (1798) was sufficiently subversive for Jane Austen to analyze some of its illicit potential in Mansfield Park (1814); Byron's strenuous tragedy The Two Foscari (1821) explores an inescapable conflict between parental love and political authority. The stage imagined by these writers is an arena of culturally charged issues--political, sexual, and socia--paralleling the ones being debated and decided in society at large.

Five Romantic Plays, 1768-1821 (Oxford World's Classics)

Edward, Burns

Paul Baines

Humor & Entertainment

Oxford University Press

Excerpt from A Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors of England, Vol. 1 of 2: With Lists of Their Works If there were no other evi dent propriety, my Lord, in my prefenting you with any thing that I fhould wifh were valu. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors of England, Vol. 1 of 2: With Lists of Their Works (Classic Reprint)

History

Europe

Forgotten Books

"Its primary intention is to facilitate the studies of scholars in the eighteenth century. Sooner or later, the eighteenth century scholar, be his subject what it may, must consult Walpole's correspondence. Politics, Society, Literature, and the Arts, these are the subjects which immediately come to mind when Horace Walpole is thought of, but there are as many more as there were divisions in eighteenth century life. This edition, through its index, hopes to lead the scholar, whether the subject of his search is Dr Johnson or ballooning, to whatever Walpole's correspondence may have to say about it."

Selected Letters of Horace Walpole

Yale University Press

The Castle of Otranto (Classic Reprint)

Richard III: The Great Debate [Feb 01, 1992] Horace Walpole; Thomas More and Paul Murray Kendall

Richard III: The Great Debate

Biographies & Memoirs

THOMAS MORE

Historical

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Third, First Published by Sir Denis Le Marchant Bart., and Now Re-Edited by G. F. Russell Barker, with Sixteen Portraits, Volume II ONLY

AMS Press

Part of the "Everyman" series, which includes a themed introduction, a chronology, a plot summary and selected criticism. This book includes "The Castle of Otranto", the first Gothic novel and "Hieroglyphic Tales", a collection of oriental fables

The Castle of Otranto and Hieroglyphic Tales: And, Hieroglyphic Tales (Everyman's Library)

History & Criticism

Everymans Library

Excerpt from The Letters of Horace Walpole, Fourth Earl of Orford, Vol. 13 of 16: Chronologically Arranged, and Edited With Notes and Indices; 1783-1787From painting by T. Gainsborough in the possession of Mr. Arthur Sanderson.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Letters of Horace Walpole, Fourth Earl of Orford, Vol. 13 of 16: Chronologically Arranged, and Edited With Notes and Indices; 1783-1787 (Classic Reprint)

Essays & Correspondence

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