Castle of Otranto (Broadview Literary Texts): A Gothic Story; And, the Mysterious Mother : A Tragedy

Castle of Otranto (Broadview Literary Texts): A Gothic Story; And, the Mysterious Mother : A Tragedy

by Horace Walpole (Author), Frederick S. Frank (Editor)

Synopsis

This Broadview edition pairs the first Gothic novel with the first Gothic drama, both by Horace Walpole. Published on Christmas Eve, 1764, on Walpole's private press at Strawberry Hill, his Gothicized country house, The Castle of Otranto became an instant and immediate classic of the Gothic genre as well as the prototype for Gothic fiction for the next two hundred years. Walpole's brooding and intense drama, The Mysterious Mother, focuses on the protagonist's angst over an act of incest with his mother, and includes the appearance of Father Benedict, Gothic literature's first evil monk. Appendices in this edition include selections from Walpole's letters, contemporary responses, and writings illustrating the aesthetic and intellectual climate of the period. Also included is Sir Walter Scott's introduction to the 1811 edition of The Castle of Otranto.

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 357
Edition: illustrated
Publisher: Broadview Press
Published: 15 Jan 2003

ISBN 10: 155111304X
ISBN 13: 9781551113043

Media Reviews
Frederick Frank brings together Walpole's controversial play The Mysterious Mother and his seminal Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto in this authoritative edition. Frank's masterly introduction transports the modern reader back to a fresh appreciation of Walpolian 'gloomth.' The edition is an indispensable addition to every Gothicist's book-shelf as well as an invaluable text for students, scholars, and general readers alike. - Marie Mulvey-Roberts, University of the West of England, Bristol A valuable tool for any scholar of the Gothic, and especially of Walpole, this book includes a chronology of Walpole's life and work, a collection of his correspondence, responses and reactions to the texts, and a guide to the aesthetic and intellectual backgrounds influencing both texts. - Eighteenth-Century Fiction
Author Bio
Frederick S. Frank is Professor Emeritus of English, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA. His books include The First Gothics: A Critical Guide to the English Gothic Novel (Garland, 1987) and The Poe Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 1997).