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The Castle of Otranto

by Horace Walpole · 1764

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First published pseudonymously in 1764, The Castle of Otrantopurported to be a translation of an Italian story of the time of the crusades. In it Walpole attempted, as he declared in the Preface to the Second Edition, "to blend the two kinds of romance: the ancient and the modern." Crammed with invention, entertainment, terror, and pathos, the novel was an immediate success and Walpole's own favorite among his numerous works. The novel is reprinted here from a text of 1798, the last that Walpole himself prepared for the press.

Genre
horrorhorrorMore like thisLess of thisfantasyfantasyMore like thisLess of thishistorical fictionhistorical fictionMore like thisLess of thisgothic horrorgothic horrorMore like thisLess of thisBritish mysteryBritish mysteryMore like thisLess of this
Themes
gothicgothicMore like thisLess of this
Setting
BritishBritishMore like thisLess of thisItalyItalyMore like thisLess of thiscollegecollegeMore like thisLess of thisEnglandEnglandMore like thisLess of this
Mood
creepycreepyMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
short · 125 pages
Form
novellanovellaMore like thisLess of this

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