Review: The Castle of Otranto

The Otranto Observer:

Prince Squashed by Giant Airborne Helmet! Full News on Page Six!

Lord of Otranto Says - "Sorry, the Castle Ain't Mine!"

FULL Interview with Covergirl Isabella - "He was Never the One for Me!"

Love Advice from Star-Struck Pair! Theodore and Matilda Tell All - How YOU Can Find True Love in Just Ten Seconds!

Jerome and Hippolita's 'Faithful's Corner': Why Entering a Monastery's the Only Way to Go!

The Commoner's Chronicle: Bianca and her Fellows Tell Why THEY'RE the Ones Who Saved Otranto!

Phew. Sorry. With a novel like Otranto it's hard not to inject a little sarcasm into the reviewing of the book. In honour of Horace Walpole - father of Gothic fiction - I'm going to write this review with as many dashes - and breaks - as I possibly can.

It's not difficult to see why Otranto is still an important book today. As a novel it marks the beginning of a new form of popular fiction - the Gothic - which would never quite die down. Its ancestors are alive and well today - Just look at the shelves of any YA section in any bookstore in the world.

 So. It's an important book. It's pretty famous, too. Added to that, it's short, at a measly 100-or-so pages. It's a quick read, even if a little challenging. Otranto is a book I've long wanted to read but never found the time to. Mostly, it's due to laziness, but I decided now was the perfect time to take a dip into the pool of Early Gothic.

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style: Letter the Seventh

Letter the Seventh

To Mrs E— Kirk

London

1st December 18—

Wales

MY Darling E—,


I mentioned in my last letter that my tale is nearly complete. I am going now to Scotland, and thence to Ireland, and thence to – I know not where. The only thing I am sure of is that I am going with the best and dearest of girls, and when I return, I trust you will pay your dutiful and devoted respects to the new Mrs Jane Notingham.

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style: Letter the Sixth

Letter the Sixth

To Mrs Kirk

E—ton House, —shire

31st October 18—

Wales

My Dearest Sister,


I have at last removed to a more comfortable lodging than that which I had hitherto remained in. Being, at last, deemed strong enough to remove myself, Miss Jane was most helpful in the moving and re-establishing of my personage in a smaller but infinitely more comfortable abode. I am now quite settled here and determined to regain my full strength before any continuation of my journey. Your letter much cheered my spirits, and your eagerness to hear the end of my tale prompts me to once again take up Miss Jane’s Tale. I last told you of the machinations of the Knight with respect to the person of Mrs Forbeson. In continuation;
“The Knight went out onto the moor in search of this plant, but could not find it. It grew rarely, and so he was forced to wander across unfamiliar land. With no lamp to guide him as night fell, he tumbled into a bog, breaking both his legs and fracturing his neck, and there he drowned. Thus the household was dissolved, but Mrs Forbeson, loyal to the last, was cursed with remaining in this house. For, unknown to the Knight (who was blinded by ambition and by jealousy, and who had never, I believe, looked at his wife properly above twice since their marriage) the Countess had in secrecy given birth to a child by the Nephew, a little girl. Mrs Forbeson was charged with raising this girl, and the Countess had forced her to swear never to remove the child from the house.”

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style: Letter the Fifth

Letter the Fifth

To Mrs E— Kirk

E—ton House, —shire

13th October 18—

Wales

My Darling Sister,


Words cannot surprise my happiness – my surprise – at receiving your letter which informs me that you were, in that short period during which I fought for my life, happily engaged in the pursuit of Matrimony. What a shock it was, indeed, to open a letter addressed to me and signed by Mrs Kirk, wife to the esteemed Captain Kirk of the Royal Navy!


My reply comes later than expected, and for that I am truly sorry.

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style: Letter the Fourth

Letter the Fourth

To Miss E— Notingham

Henrow House, —shire

2nd October 18—

Wales

My Dearest E—,

I continue my Narration with no more interruptions, for I must and will finish this Tale for you. I too am anxious to unburden myself of it, and this History will no doubt live on in our family. I trust for this reason you will retain my letters to you that we may entertain our children and they in turn their own children with tales of my Adventure, what one may say is currently my only claim (though I trust it will not long remain so) to Fame.

Columbine Icefly, the Goddess of Scandanavia

I'M one of those people who has an obsession for online quizzes and name generators. I was browsing just this afternoon and came across a fairy name generator. Now I've always wondered, if I had wings and was ten centimetres tall, what they'd call me. It seems they'd call me something like:

Your fairy is called Columbine Icefly

She is a bone chilling bringer of justice for the vulnerable.

She lives in mushroom fields and quiet meadows.

She is only seen at midday under a quiet, cloudless sky.

She wears lilac and purple like columbine flowers. She has icy blue butterfly wings.

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style: Letter the Third

Letter the Third

To Miss E— Notingham
Henrow House, —shire

1st October 18—
Wales

MY Dearest Sister E—,

I thank you for your kind letter, which reached me in good time. The post is slow here, but that is not, I confess, the reason for my delay in replying to your letter. Though I do not wish to alarm you, I must explain my long silence which surely caused you much anxiety. Not long after despatching my last letter to you, I was taken to bed with a fever, and for many days lay unconscious of time and human presence. I surely felt that I had come near to the end, and in my fevered lamentations was greatly sorry that I could not write to you even once to bid you adieu. I spent the better part of September unwell here at this unsavoury inn, with nobody to attend me but a lady I will later dwell upon at length, Miss Jane, who is an uncommonly hard-working and kindly girl. She offered many a time to pen a letter to you but I did not wish to alarm you by sending tidings in another’s hand, which I was convinced would only serve to distress you more. But let that matter rest – I am now strong enough to hold my pen again, and Miss Jane has been clever in fashioning, with the help of the local blacksmith, a kind of writing-table which I may use from the comfort of my bed, thereby eliminating the need to spend many hours in the draughty room, sitting up rather than remaining in my current position.

But I have now done with myself – You are no doubt anxious to hear the continuation of my story, which you showed so much enthusiasm for in your letter.

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style: Letter the Second

Letter The Second
To Miss E— Notingham, London

25th August 18—
Wales

My Dearest E—,

Having attempted, over the course of yesterday’s rest, to improve the state of my Health, which is not, I fear, at its very best (though certainly not nearly so bad as to trouble yourself with, my dearest E—) I have again come to my writing-desk to pen the promised tale of Horror to you. I trust the first instalment was amusing, and to your liking – certainly it was diverting for my own sake. The experience of it will live on in my Remembrance I believe, until my Final Hour. And so, without further ado, Dearest Sister (for I know how you hate to be diverted from the topic you are most interested in) I continue with my tale.

I had just told you, Sister, of my entrance into the House, and how I came to see the most astounding Sight in my eight-and-twenty years of life.

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style: Letter the First

A letter in the Gothic Style.

To Miss E. Notingham

23rd August 18—

MY Dearest Sister,

What a rare moment is this when, in my solitary rambles across the countryside, I occasionally have the pleasure of addressing you in a confidential letter! I trust you enjoy the quiet pleasures of home as you have always done. Though my heart is, as well you know, steeled with a Lion Strength, I must admit to you, my sweet sister that the experiences of the past twenty-four hours have stirred within my breast such Convulsions and Terrors that I shudder to recall. So great are these Horrors that they surpass anything one might encounter in the most horrid of Modern Novels. I shrink back from describing such things to one as gentle as you, my dear E— yet share them I must, for I fear that even my hearty Constitution will not long withstand the concealment.

The Manor on the Moor: A Letter in the Gothic Style

TWO posts, one after the other; I must admit I am a little eager (but give me a little time, until the novelty wears off!) But today being Halloween, and this piece being written expressly for Halloween, I thought it would be right to post it.