The Castle of Otranto Audiobook

" This is a entertaining early gothic novel with the depth of a fairy tale: innocent, young virgin princesses protected by a heroic young "peasant" with noble blood from the villian lord of the castle. It's more interesting as the beginning of a genre than for the depth (or lack there of) of its characters. "

" This is apparently the origin of the eyes-looking-out-through paintings gag. "

" I don't know. I was expecting more from this book, but it was just too ridiculous and boring (compared to all the things I'd heard about Gothic books). But yeah, definitely not a book I'll be reading again. "

" I think this book started something I didn't expect, more so an interest in horror fiction that I forgot about because I was too busy trying to be smart. Its marked as the first gothic novel written, and has a pretty neat history. T'is quite good. "

" The ultimate gothic novel. Fuck Steven King.. kill the lights, light a match and read this shit until the shadows on the walls become phantasms. "

" First written in the 1500's! A tragic tale of love, castles, giants, ghosts and murder! The moral is the old time "the sins of the fathers". "

" The original Gothic novel. It's bizarre. "

" Really slow build up to an amazing twisted conclusion. "

" Somewhat difficult to decipher in places due to its grammatical structure, but none the less one of the key books which kick started the gothic horror genre, and deserves its praise. "

" Delicious little Gothic/soap opera romp of a book. Very Dark Shadows meets Days of Our Lives. "

" While a little silly, it was interesting to see where the Gothic novel came from. It was short, and pleasingly so, but also quite refreshing in its sincerely drawn characters. "

" I liked the vocabulary usage, and the writing style was at times interesting. However, on the whole, this isn't what I was looking for in the novel. Perhaps I was mistaken in believing the "gothic novel" genre answered the taste I was attempting to gratify. "

" Interesting. More a Gothic romance, and the supernatural elements are very much an aside. Will talk more in a month on my next podcast at Tales to Terrify. Check out my introductory podcast for Horror 101. "

" Most notable because it is the first Gothic novel; least notable because it is the worst Gothic novel. "

" Overall, I felt this was a good book. A bit difficult to read at times and very hectic plot. But a great start to a beautiful genre. "

" A must to read if one wants to familiarize with Gothic literature. ( as far as I know it is considered the first Gothic novel) One warning though,it's full of cliches. "

" A homosexual Gothic novel? No way, seriously? Yes, way. The book opens with a guy getting crushed by a giant helmet. Way cool. "

" Mainly of interest to people curious what was considered an appealing read two hundred years ago. Cardboard characters. Purposeless dialog. This is a short story padded out to novel length. "

" For the first book in the genre it was really good. "

" What fun! This is an excellent edition, would that all editions for scholars were so well put together. Franks edifys without stultifying. Oh crap now I have to read something more mundane so my language returns to normal. Enjoy!! "

" A bit tongue in cheek, rather like a Hammer horror movie. It moves at a good pace and is relatively short. Not to be taken too seriously. "

" Mediocre horror or slapstick comedy? Walpole aptly demonstrates that the distance between the poles is not nearly as far as your college lit professor (and Twilight) would have you believe. "

" One of the true SCARY Gothic novels. I love the feel of it, you can almost smell the musty old castle. "

" Best gothic novel I ever read. "

" This novella was a RIOT! Everything was so overly melodramatic it was enormously entertaining. The prose was a little hard to adjust to -- think classic, flowery language -- but once you were in, it wasn't too hard to follow. "

" I read this for a British Gothic Lit class. It was the first gothic novel ever written, and while it's not fantastic, it deserves credit for starting an entire genre. "

" It's the first in the gothic tradition. Not the best, but worth reading simply for the sake of posterity. "

" Overall, I felt this was a good book. A bit difficult to read at times and very hectic plot. But a great start to a beautiful genre. "

" Except for the rather unsatisfying ending, it was a great book. Even the ending wasn't bad, just not as happy as I like (what is it with long-ago authors determined to kill half their characters?). "

" This is a short one, but for what it lacks in page length it more than makes up in swooning and melodrama! The grandfather of gothic novels - perfect for a rainy day when you are locked up in the house! "

" Interesting, but not that fun to read. "

" Very quick, very entertaining read. "

" You should read it because it's the first gothic novel, just don't expect it to be good. It is rather amusing in it's badness, however. "

" Well... this one is no Udolpho. There is nothing but melodrama and all the characters are basically alike, with one exception of Bianca the servant. I understand the book's significance in the English literary history (that's why I read it), but I expected it to be a bit more fun. "

" Better than I expected it to be :) "

" Full of melodrama and resembled a Greek tragedy. I enjoyed it. "

" Great story. but Warning. Massive sexism alert! "

" I hated this book- also it's like 100 pages long. There are no paragraphs! It makes reading this book particularly exasperating. I guess this is supposed to be the first gothic novel. Bo-ring. "

" I don't know quite how to classify this in my own bookshelves. It's a work of its time, and no doubt if I'd read it 200 years ago I would have thought it a ripping good yarn. "

" Wowza! What a great little weekend read. Fast paced and written with words that made me pull out the dictionary a few times, still it held my attention throughout the whole read. I'd tell anyone to try this book out at least once. "

" This was a pretty silly book that contributed to the development of gothic literature. "

" This was a pretty silly book that contributed to the development of gothic literature. "

" I'm reading this for a grad course and SOOOO enjoying it. I highly recommend it. "

" I'm reading this for a grad course and SOOOO enjoying it. I highly recommend it. "

" For this review I feel like I should just copy and paste my thesis into it. :P If you love gothic works, you owe it to yourself to read the first self proclaimed gothic novel. "

" For this review I feel like I should just copy and paste my thesis into it. :P If you love gothic works, you owe it to yourself to read the first self proclaimed gothic novel. "

" My first excursion into the Gothic genre, it was a very entertaining read, with some character depth. "

" My first excursion into the Gothic genre, it was a very entertaining read, with some character depth. "

" Marvellous! A delicious read full of melodrama and morals from 1764; a discourse on the dangers of ambition; a supernatural revenge tale. What more could you ask for? "

" Very short, over-wrought supernatural thriller written in the 18th century. Glad to know people enjoyed trashy reading then, too! "

" Bastante interesante pese a que no es una historia tan larga. Obscuro, misterioso, con muy buenos personajes! "