From the eerie corridors of ancient strongholds to the depths of ancestral secrets, The Castle of Otranto and The Old English Baron are captivating works of classic horror with significant influence in the history of gothic fiction.
Esteemed and highly influential, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) was England's first gothic horror novel, but when Clara Reeve rewrote the story as The Old English Baron (1778) over thirty years later, her work was received with heavy criticism. With looming curses and familial treachery, both works are set in the medieval era with atmospheres steeped in relentless suspense. Yet, where Walpole's prolific work blurs the line between realism and the supernatural, Reeve rewrote the fantastical story with features of naturalism for the modern reader. Discover the origins of gothic fiction in these two prolific novels and read their comparisons and critiques in this volume's featured excerpts by H. P. Lovecraft and Montague Summers.