You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
medium-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
This book was the start of Gothic fiction so we have a lot to be grateful to it for. That being said, I’m not surprised that the books it inspired are more famous than this book itself.
Generally speaking, it’s melodramatic, silly, and told without much suspense or without leaving the reader with emotional attachment to the characters. And the characters. The fathers are pervy and creepy, perfectly happy to marry women without their consent. Meanwhile, the women go on about obedience to their father or to their husband, regardless of how they’re treating them - maybe we’re meant to be moved by the submission of the women but it left me feeling really annoyed. Hippolita takes the cake, being pathetic and, in her eagerness to do whatever her psycho husband wants, an absolutely terrible mother. The characters are very thinly drawn, the ghostly happenings are without suspense and when dramatic things do happen to key characters, I found myself very unmoved. I’m sure the medieval setting has something to do with a lot of these problems but that doesn’t make it a better reading experience.
My favourite part was Horace Walpole’s two introductions. In the first, he anonymously claims that he is a translator who found this medieval Italian transcript in an old house and talks with great flattery about the story. In the second, he reveals that he was the author and that he was too shy to admit he’d written it but with the public positive reception, he’s happy to claim it now.
Generally speaking, it’s melodramatic, silly, and told without much suspense or without leaving the reader with emotional attachment to the characters. And the characters. The fathers are pervy and creepy, perfectly happy to marry women without their consent. Meanwhile, the women go on about obedience to their father or to their husband, regardless of how they’re treating them - maybe we’re meant to be moved by the submission of the women but it left me feeling really annoyed. Hippolita takes the cake, being pathetic and, in her eagerness to do whatever her psycho husband wants, an absolutely terrible mother. The characters are very thinly drawn, the ghostly happenings are without suspense and when dramatic things do happen to key characters, I found myself very unmoved. I’m sure the medieval setting has something to do with a lot of these problems but that doesn’t make it a better reading experience.
My favourite part was Horace Walpole’s two introductions. In the first, he anonymously claims that he is a translator who found this medieval Italian transcript in an old house and talks with great flattery about the story. In the second, he reveals that he was the author and that he was too shy to admit he’d written it but with the public positive reception, he’s happy to claim it now.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
i want to be friends with matilda
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you like King Lear Shakespeare style drama this is right up your street. It is written as a well worded summary rather than a play
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
jak na lekturę na studia to czytało się to całkiem fajnie, ale było takie chaotyczne, tak wiele wątków było nierozwiązanych, wszystkie postacie były płytkie i ogólnie nieznośne, SZCZEGÓLNIE Hipolita, że nie mogę tego wyżej ocenić, mimo że bawiłam się całkiem dobrze
2,5/5
2,5/5
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No