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The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story Paperback – 20 October 2014

by Walpole (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 295 ratings
Edition: 3rd
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'Look, my lord! See heaven itself declares against your impious intentions!' The Castle of Otranto (1764) is the first supernatural English novel and one of the most influential works of Gothic fiction. It inaugurated a literary genre that will be forever associated with the effects that Walpole pioneered. Professing to be a translation of a mysterious Italian tale from the darkest Middle Ages, the novel tells of Manfred, prince of Otranto, whose fear of an ancient prophecy sets him on a course of destruction. After the grotesque death of his only son, Conrad, on his wedding day, Manfred determines to marry the bride-to-be. The virgin Isabella flees through a castle riddled with secret passages. Chilling coincidences, ghostly visitations, arcane revelations, and violent combat combine in a heady mix that terrified the novel's first readers.In this new edition Nick Groom examines the reasons for its extraordinary impact and the Gothic culture from which it sprang. The Castle of Otranto was a game-changer, and Walpole the writer who paved the way for modern horror exponents. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0198704445
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0198704447
  3. Edition
    3rd
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press UK
  5. Publication date
    20 October 2014
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    19.76 x 1.14 x 13.08 cm
  8. Print length
    176 pages
  9. See all details
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Book Description

A new edition of one of the most influential Gothic novels, which explores the reasons for the novel's impact.

From the Publisher

Nick Groom has published widely for both academic and popular readerships, with particular interest in questions of authenticity and the emergence of national and regional identity. His books include The Gothic (2012) for the Very Short Introductions series, The Union Jack: the Story of the British Flag (Atlantic, 2006), and The Seasons: an Elegy for the Passing of the Year (Atlantic, 2013).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press UK; 3rd edition (20 October 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0198704445
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0198704447
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.76 x 1.14 x 13.08 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 295 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Top review from Australia

Kate L
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in Australia on 12 May 2023
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Great Gothic novel, quick read, good edition of the book
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Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars The Castle of Otranto, considered the first gothic novel, is an important and a fun-to-read book.
Reviewed in the United States on 16 January 2022
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Prince Manfred was the lord of the Castle of Otranto. His wife was Hippolita, his son was Conrad, and his daughter was Matilda. In order to achieve a political alliance, Conrad was to marry Princess Isabella, the daughter of the marquis of Vicenza. Unfortunately, an extraordinarily large helmet fell upon Conrad, killing him. This object was an extreme enlargement of the helmet on a statue of Prince Alfonso the Good, an earlier ruler of Otranto, that was in the church of St. Nicholas, adjacent to the castle. Coincidentally, the actual helmet from the statue was discovered to be missing. After briefly grieving the loss of his son, Manfred decided that Conrad was a sickly, puny child and unworthy of the beauty of Isabella. Hippolita had given Manfred only the one son. So, Manfred decided that he would marry Isabella and that she would give him many sons. This was unacceptable to Isabella. She attempted to escape from the castle to take refuge in the adjacent church. Manfred chased her. Thus begins the novel The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. As the story progresses, more characters are introduced, and, as they say, the plot thickens.

In some places, The Castle of Otranto is described as “the earliest and the most influential of the Gothic novels.” It has “a series of catastrophes, ghostly interventions, revelations of identity, and exciting contests.” There are coincidences, misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and plot twists in the story. In a way, this book made me think of a Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations, one of my favorite books of all time. Of course, the two books were written in different centuries, have different settings, and are written in different styles. However, the aforementioned revelations of identity, coincidences, and other features are in both books.

Reading The Castle of Otranto has its challenges. The style of writing is different from the style of writing in modern novels. Also, the dialog is not placed in quotations marks and placed on separate lines. Still, the book indicates who is saying what, with a few moments of confusion if you try to read too fast. If you read deliberately, if not slowly, you can follow the story clearly. After awhile, you don’t notice the unusual sentences. You hear everything in your head, as it is stated by the characters or the narrator, with complete understanding. I had to look up some words like orison and casque, but that didn’t happen often.

In chapter 1, Manfred insults people with the word “blockhead.” This is how Lucy insults Charlie Brown in the Peanuts comic strip. In the Oxford University Press World’s Classics edition, it says that it is from the text of 1798, the last that Walpole himself prepared for publication. It also states that this edition has been edited. However, I doubt that blockhead was inserted in place of some other word by the editor. Apparently, the word “blockhead” has a long history.

I didn’t read the Introduction before reading the novel. I was concerned that it would contain “spoilers.” And, with all the twists and turns of the story, you won’t enjoy reading it as much if you were told about them in advance. I will read the Introduction next. I did read the preface to the first edition and the preface to the second edition before reading the novel itself. I found it interesting that the first preface presents the book as a translation of an Italian book, and that the second preface notes that the claim of the book being a translation is false and apologizes for the deception. Although, I did find it relatively easy to read the novel’s style of writing, I did find it more difficult to read the prefaces. I will reread them now.

The Castle of Otranto is an important book in literature and an enjoyable book to read. I recommend it.
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Lisa
1.0 out of 5 stars L’histoire à l’air bien
Reviewed in France on 28 March 2022
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L’histoire a l’air bien, je devais lire le livre pour mes cours. Je n’ai cependant pas été livrée
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Abhijit Aich
5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfactory service
Reviewed in India on 24 July 2021
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Very good quality
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J. Jaros
5.0 out of 5 stars Page turning story sucks you in
Reviewed in Canada on 5 February 2018
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Classic page turning Gothic English literature. Well written
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marc7419
5.0 out of 5 stars gothic with a capital G
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2015
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You have probably read Dracula, you may have read Frankenstein, you have even probably read M.R James and even HP Lovecraft ect ect and they have all given you that certain chill up the spine and that atmosphere that you need in a good supernatural horror story, but if you havn't read this then you are missing something really excellent.
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