Review by liaedwards - The Castle of Otranto

liaedwards 's review for:

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read this a few years ago for a college class on gothic literature and really enjoyed it. This was the first gothic novel, and the author initially published under a pseudonym and claimed it to be a translation from an old Italian manuscript. This turned out to be a blatant lie by the author, which is really funny– I suppose back in the day it lended some credibility to the novel, and resulted in some intrigue for readers of the day.

Sometimes older books can be clunky and slow paced, but this one was dramatic with a dose of sarcastic humor. There is a good bit of death and violence, think murder mystery novels. I always like a bit of supernatural suspense in a creepy old castle. If you enjoyed reading Hamlet in school, this might be a book you'd feel the same way about. Ticks off some similar boxes with royalty, murder, self-sacrificing characters, and familial tension.

This is definitely not a book with deeply developed characters, staunchly feminist characters, or tons of complex plot (although there is a good bit, considering my copy was around 120 pages!)

Content Warnings