[.ca] The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story (ISBN 0192834401)

The Original Gothic Mystery:
Walpole's book is one of the first in this genre. It is the story of a prince who is anxious to keep his throne no matter what the cost. This obsession leads him to bring misery to several key characters. A supernatural force fights against him, but he refuses to acknowledge it. A bleeding statue, a giant helmet, and much vengeance from the haunting knight makes the reader wonder when the prince would give in. The interactions between some characters are beautiful and noble. For someone who likes knights in armors, castles and fortresses, virtuous ladies, and many more gothic themes, this book is a wonderful choice.

Otranto is a perfect place for ghosts and usurpers:
Considered the very first book of Gothic Literature, Horace Walpole's 'The Castle of Otranto' stands on its own merits. It is not the kind of novel for those who expect a gory ghost story, closer to what we callterror today. The narrative is too subtle, filled with nuances that create a scary mood. The story is not very complicated: in the day of his wedding, Conrad, the son of the prince of Otranto, is killed in a very surreal way. While his mother, sister and bride are terrified, his father wants to divorce and marry the bride, so that he can have another son. This event will unchain a lot of ghosts' intervention and a dark truth will be found. And for such short book --actually a novella-- a lot of things happen. The events and characters are quite unrealistic, but this is where the fun of reading this book is. Not to mention the historical value of the narrative. More than a ghosts story, it is the tale of a man who usurped the throne, and the consequences he suffered. While the aftermath may not be quite realistic, usurping thrones was something quite common. The biggest barrier for a contemporary reader is Walpole's language. Not that it is florid, but it is written in the way people used to speak in the 18th Century. But while for some it is a discouragement, for other it is a joy --once we get used to it. His dialogues a descriptions easily flow. The way the writer creates the atmosphere is unforgettable. Castle is a place where ghosts seem to be, and Otranto's is a perfect place for them. Moreover, there is a very positive influence of Shakespeare on Walpole. Every now and then a Shakespearian quote pops up --mostly from 'Macbeth' and Hamlet'. 'Otranto' has even a theatrical format. Square brackets are used to indicate changing, like in a play. All in all, 'The Castle of Otranto' is a great novella, but it doesn't have a wide appeal. People who are used to contemporary gothic tales my found it very slow, but anyway, they should try and read, just to find out where it all began.

Entertaining, Classic and Historical:
Not only is Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto" important as the epochal first novel of the Gothic genre, but is also as one of the first novels ever. There are few true novels (in the style and form of an actual novel)that predate "Otranto" and such an explosion of novels succeeding closely thereafter, following in its wake. Aside from it's literary and historical merits, "The Castle of Otranto" is still extremely entertaining in its own right. It reads very quickly, helped along by Walpole's concise and hurried style and by suspense. It is also entertaining in the aspect that it is so cliche, so to speak. How many times, in how many forms, have we seen an Isabella wandering, lost and frightened, in the catacombs beneath the castle? And how many times thenceforth have we seen a Theodore bravely outwitting a Manfred? To say, however, that "Otranto" is cliche would, of course, be incorrect as it was the first of its kind and thus set the precedent. But it is still interesting how we modern readers already know the general story through what we have already been exposed to by the devices that writers have absorbed through age-old stories, such as "Otranto", pulling them through the centuries for use in their own writing. I would definitely recommend reading "The Castle of Otranto", especially the Oxford Classics edition with the helpful footnotes. It is pure fun and really interesting to see where the immense Gothic and branch-off of Gothic literature evolved from.

Doesn't work:
This may be the beginning of the gothic novel but it certainly isn't the best of them. About halfway through, the story simply becomes monotonous. Some other reviewers have mentioned that this old piece may not satisfy modern tastes, but I don't find that the fault lays so much with the audience, as with the author. This story just begins to sputter after awhile, and becomes tedious. If you want old goth, try "The Monk". It's better written.

A Gothic classic and a darn good read:
Setting aside this work's importance as the first Gothic novel, it is also a terrific read. Some critics disparage the quality of the writing, but I find it eloquent and enthralling. Certainly, the style is antiquated and the milieu is one quite distant from that of the modern reader, but never have I read such long paragraphs so quickly and energetically. I can appreciate the sentiments of its first readers who reportedly could not put the book down and longed for more after they turned the final page. There is action aplenty to be found in these pages. The characters are prone to make long, drawn-out speeches, but these never slow the pace of the story itself. The characters are revealed quite poignantly through their speech and action, a fact which somewhat surprised me. There was a deep complexity to Manfred that seemed to speak volumes; while he is surely tyrannical and, to some degree, evil, one can often sense an internal battle within his soul at moments of tragic importance. While he cannot be liked, he can certainly be understood. The young hero Theodore is truly a remarkable lad, the very model of a virtuous, noble gentleman--most importantly, he is just as noble in peasant's rags as he is in princely attire. The two young princesses, Matilda and Isabella, were marvelously portrayed--beautiful, kind, and virtuous to a fault. Their mistreatment by their fathers is the great tragedy of the story. They will gladly sacrifice their own virtue in acquiescence to the wishes of the men controlling their lives. Such devotion is a symbol of the virtual prison that women were forced by society to dwell in for far too long. They, much more than Theodore, are the true heroic figures to be found in the Castle of Otranto. The servants were delightful in the naivete they evoked in conversation with their "betters." They were not truly naive, of course, and spoke the way they did primarily in order to protect themselves and their masters or mistresses. Reading the conversations between Manfred and Bianca was akin to hearing the old "who's on first" skit. While some may view it as tiresome, I found it quite funny, and I admired the wiles of Bianca in forcing such consternation in the evil Manfred. I must point out that the conversations between characters can be somewhat trying to understand at times because the author does not begin a new paragraph each time a different character speaks. There were times when I got lost and had to go back and reread several lines in order to figure out just who was speaking when. All in all, this is a quick, entertaining read. While it is the first real Gothic novel, modern readers should not pick this up and expect a horror story--the castle is not so dank, the labyrinths are not so gloomy, and the woods are not so dark and mysterious as to cause anyone in this day and age to sleep with the lights on. Do not look with dismay at the long paragraphs and the antiquated modes of speaking; this is a short novel packed with action, told in a compelling manner. Old it may be, but it is just a darn good read.