Reviews - The Castle of Otranto Illustrated

1.82k reviews for:

The Castle of Otranto Illustrated

Horace Walpole

3.06 AVERAGE

atropos1789's review against another edition

0.5

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

For all I have heard about this book birthing the gothic horror genre, I was amazed at how much it failed to establish anything approaching a compelling story. If you are interested in the genre and its history, it may not be a bad read, but there is very little to be found in this book for anyone else.

gemingtons's review against another edition

4.0

funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

pixiewitch666's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

spvsarah's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

andreastopit's review against another edition

4.5

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

beriboo's review against another edition

1.0

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"Grant me patience!" said Manfred, "will this wench never come to the point?"

I can totally relate because I found myself asking the same question while wading through a lot of the dialogue! While The Castle of Otranto is like the great-great-grandparent of Gothic literature, it's clear why it isn’t as popular as its descendants. Its overly dramatic plot twists and cardboard characters just didn't stand the test of time for me. So, let's give it 1 out of 5 stars for being the awkward Medieval ancestor at the literary family reunion.

lets_b_libros's review against another edition

2.5

Author wants to be Shakespeare soooo bad….
Loved seeing what people read hundreds of years ago. Loved even MORE that the original audience ALSO read this wanting to hear a story from hundreds of years ago!!!!!!
Andddd that’s about all I really liked about it lol
Surprisingly not too obscure of language