The Castle Of Otranto

[Burrich1]

Anyone ever read The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole? It's supposedly credited with being the first gothic fiction book published. (1764) Is it any good or just rubbish? I am usually a fan of both books that start movements and firsts in a genre like this; however, I’ve always avoided Walpole figuring I would be sorely disappointed.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Yeah i read it about 4 years ago when i was on my quest to find the "Real Gothic" ™ ©. Slow and hard to follow in some parts. The idea that some of the ideas in the story that would later be used by Poe and Shelly and such are considered to be rooted in this book made me finish it, where i might not have otherwise. I did enjoy it to some degree, but would by no means put it on a recommended reading list. If your hardcore interested in the "firsts and foundational" type stuff, then i think its worth the read.

Its genuinely interesting in some parts with the various love triangles and revenge from the grave and the bizarre apparitions of various sorts along with the different confusions and darkly-lit scenes where people end up killing the wrong person out of fear and confusion as to what is actually going on. It was, in its day probably genuinely frightening when people commonly believed in a lot of the apparitions and spirits and ghosts of ancestors and such operating in the world. But we being jaded with modern novels and such and well constructed plots will have a hard time with it.

It reminds me in its overall story of Shakespeare's Macbeth, with the central figure being the power crazed nut case Manfred hell-bent on keeping power and getting a male heir to his kingdom.

If you've already read say, the key works of Shakespeare and Poe and the like, I'd give this a go, but more for its historical relevance than anything else. If your looking for lets say "just a good read" this probably isn't it.

On a scale from 1 to 5 I'd give this a 3. Good enough to finish reading it. If i really dislike something, i usually cant even finish it and just skim it uber quickly , even for a school class.

[Burrich1]

Thanks for your comments Troy. The inspiration others have taken from this book intrigues me, but I’ve always figured it being a book from another era that inspired others from yet another era. I figured I am too many eras removed to get much out of it, enjoyment or curiosity wise.

I think based on what you said, I'll search online for a cheap used copy. Realistically, it will sit mixed in with a pile of other books on my nightstand (with other books lower in my queue) for about 6 to 10 months. Inevitably, I will be hit with some Sunday night insomnia with nothing to read and will eventually pick it up.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Heh. I read fairly slow (about a book a month, as i tend to spend a lot of time "pondering" what i read) so my to-be-read pile currently seems to have something like 20 books on it, of which, several keep getting pushed further down the pile. Some of the books i think should just give up on me and realize I'm never going to get to them.

Yeah if you have a fairly extensive to-be-read pile already, which, i assume if your anything like me you research out before you throw a book on top of... this definitely wouldn't be one I'd be overly excited to get to.