The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story (Oxford World's Classics)

This review refers to the Oxford World's Classics edition, edited by WS Lewis, with a 26-page introduction and eight pages of endnotes by EJ Clery. There is a select bibliography and a chronology of the author, Horace Walpole. Importantly, the book includes both the first and second editions' title-pages and prefaces.

The first edition, "The Castle of Otranto: A Story, translated by William Marshal", was published in December 1764 (but marked 1765 on the title-page). It's preface tried - and succeeded for awhile - to give the impression that the tale had been "found in the library of an ancient catholic family in the north of England" and had been "printed at Naples ... in the year 1529. ... The style is the purest Italian."

The style was instead the purest Walpole and he quickly confessed; so that in the rapidly-issued second edition of 1765 (the book was an immediate hit), the revised preface became, as EJ Clery makes clear, "a manifesto for a new type of writing", and the title-page was amended to "The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story".

The inclusion of the adjective into the story's title is fundamental to the book's reputation as being the well-spring of much (all?) that followed in subsequent western literature that effected to underscore its credentials with a Gothic - or Gothick - motif. One could argue that that includes 90% of western literature (as much Thomas Pynchon as Stephen King), but this is going too far; for as Walpole himself makes plain in his second preface, his work was an attempt to marry imagination with nature, fantasy with reality, and that he had progenitors in the essay: "That great master of nature, Shakespeare, was the model I copied."

The story itself - a tale of lordly tyranny, supernatural horror, and family feuding that would have interested Shakespeare himself in its dramatic possibilities - is told over five chapters, barely one hundred pages in total, and so can be read in a few hours. As the excellent introduction relates, Walpole himself thought the story a piece of whimsy, and did not attempt to savagely repudiate the criticisms raised about both the style of writing and about the narrative itself. He was aware of the novella's power, however, in creating a new species of romance.

The work today is as much read for its historic relevance than for its terror and sublime effects, but both of these aspects recommend it.

well at least it is short (0/5 people found this helpful)

If you have to read a gothic novel this is an obvious choice: not only it is the prototype of the genre but it is also -and be grateful- short. It is an interesting book for the literature student but the average reader must be aware that the book is not compiling with our contemporary ideas about probability or cohesiveness of the plot.

The Castle of Otranto (3/4 people found this helpful)

Supposed by some to be the original Gothic story, it contains all the motifs essential for such a text in the little known genre; impossibly virtuous ladies, the supernatural, darkness, the anti hero, a monk, and the gothic edifice that is the principality of Otranto itself, the list goes on. It would be untrue to say that this is an easy read; even as a relatively short novel, its style of very little punctuation and extremely long paragraphs with no gap between speech cannot be easily avoided. Others may be put of by the fairly one dimensional and predictable plot. Whatever criticisms you make of it though, if you need an introduction to Gothic literature, this is most likely the best place to start. Oxford World’s Classics is a scholarly series, and a helpful introduction is provided, even if the explanatory notes are somewhat thin on the ground.

A Castle in the air (3/6 people found this helpful)

I decided to read this book after I had read Jane Austen's under-rated and enjoyable Northanger Abbey. Despite the treatment that Austen gives to gothic fiction, I was mindful that Otranto is nevertheless a classic, so tried to make my reading as impartial and objective as possible. However, it is very difficult given the content of the book.

Throughout we are treated to unbelievable occurrences. A Massive helmet appears from the sky, a foot with no leg inhabits a great room, knights with a train larger than most armies carry a hundred foot sword to fulfil an ancient prophecy. The principal characters are at best predictable - an evil father, a submissive mother, two damsels crying for a saviour, said saviour and some knights who seem reluctant to say that much. It is fairly safe to say that the characters are about as two dimensional as Mr Micawber.

If you're looking for a developed plot then I would recommend you visit the castle at Elsinore, as The Castle of Otranto is built upon no foundations. In defence of Otranto it can be said that this book was never intended to be a Hamlet or a Beowulf, however it seems no better written than an average pulp novel.

This book is worth reading however for three reasons - It is the blue print that countless gothic novels are based upon, it is interesting to see what people were scared by in past times, and it will give you an appreciation of Jane Austen's wit.

A Gothic classic and a darn good read (10/13 people found this helpful)

Setting aside this work's importance as the first Gothic novel, it is also a terrific read. Some critics disparage the quality of the writing, but I find it eloquent and enthralling. Certainly, the style is antiquated and the milieu is one quite distant from that of the modern reader, but never have I read such long paragraphs so quickly and energetically. I can appreciate the sentiments of its first readers who reportedly could not put the book down and longed for more after they turned the final page. There is action aplenty to be found in these pages. The characters are prone to make long, drawn-out speeches, but these never slow the pace of the story itself.

The characters are revealed quite poignantly through their speech and action, a fact which somewhat surprised me. There was a deep complexity to Manfred that seemed to speak volumes; while he is surely tyrannical and, to some degree, evil, one can often sense an internal battle within his soul at moments of tragic importance. While he cannot be liked, he can certainly be understood. The young hero Theodore is truly a remarkable lad, the very model of a virtuous, noble gentleman--most importantly, he is just as noble in peasant's rags as he is in princely attire. The two young princesses, Matilda and Isabella, were marvelously portrayed--beautiful, kind, and virtuous to a fault. Their mistreatment by their fathers is the great tragedy of the story. They will gladly sacrifice their own virtue in acquiescence to the wishes of the men controlling their lives. Such devotion is a symbol of the virtual prison that women were forced by society to dwell in for far too long. They, much more than Theodore, are the true heroic figures to be found in the Castle of Otranto.

The servants were delightful in the naivete they evoked in conversation with their "betters." They were not truly naïve, of course, and spoke the way they did primarily in order to protect themselves and their masters or mistresses. Reading the conversations between Manfred and Bianca was akin to hearing the old "who's on first" skit. While some may view it as tiresome, I found it quite funny, and I admired the wiles of Bianca in forcing such consternation in the evil Manfred.

I must point out that the conversations between characters can be somewhat trying to understand at times because the author does not begin a new paragraph each time a different character speaks. There were times when I got lost and had to go back and reread several lines in order to figure out just who was speaking when. All in all, this is a quick, entertaining read. While it is the first real Gothic novel, modern readers should not pick this up and expect a horror story--the castle is not so dank, the labyrinths are not so gloomy, and the woods are not so dark and mysterious as to cause anyone in this day and age to sleep with the lights on. Do not look with dismay at the long paragraphs and the antiquated modes of speaking; this is a short novel packed with action, told in a compelling manner. Old it may be, but it is just a darn good read.

The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story (Oxford World's Classics)

Horace Walpole

Reader Reviews:

The power of whimsy (0/0 people found this helpful)

well at least it is short (0/5 people found this helpful)

The Castle of Otranto (3/4 people found this helpful)

A Castle in the air (3/6 people found this helpful)

A Gothic classic and a darn good read (10/13 people found this helpful)

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