classic gothic horrors

[dwdean]

new to the forum, wondering if anyone else on here has spent much time studying classic gothic horror novels such as Dracula or Frankenstein?

[dfloyd]

you mentioned. Loved Dracula not so much Frakenstein. Read Austen's Northanger Abby which is more or less a spoof of Gothic Novels. Have had the Castle of Otranto for years, but never read it.

[dwdean]

"northanger abby" is a spoof meaning it mocks gothic horrors or is a cheap imitation?

[dfloyd]

this novel is not a cheap imitation.

[Dark Muse]

I loved both Dracula and Frankenstein

Edgar Allan Poe wrote a novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.

And though I have not read it yet The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne I believe is meant to be a gothic horror.

If you enjoyed Dracula you may want to read Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

[Calidore]

"northanger abby" is a spoof meaning it mocks gothic horrors or is a cheap imitation?

It's a spoof. The heroine is a huge fan of Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho (considered the template for the classic gothic novel) who moves to a large estate that fuels her overactive imagination. I've never read either book (though I have both), but I once saw an adaptation of Northanger on A & E that was fun.

[missmeadowsweet]

It's a spoof. The heroine is a huge fan of Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho (considered the template for the classic gothic novel) who moves to a large estate that fuels her overactive imagination. I've never read either book (though I have both), but I once saw an adaptation of Northanger on A & E that was fun.

Yes, Northanger Abbey is definitely not a cheap imitation. Jane Austen is a master of wit and pointed mockery all in the context of a good story. Catherine in Northanger Abbey is captivated with the plot twists of the gothic novels she reads and applies their circumstances to her own life, which ultimately makes a fool of her. Perhaps Jane Austen was implying that Gothic novels are completely unrealistic and not very good literature because all they do are promote sensationalism. Anyhow, I think Northanger Abbey is a very good book.

Also, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a very good Gothic novel. I haven't actually read it, but my sister also loves Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

[Panglossian]

Malpertuis by Jean Ray is my favourite Gothic horror novel. A bit peculiar but hey...

[Heteronym]

Malpertuis by Jean Ray is my favourite Gothic horror novel. A bit peculiar but hey...

Never heard of it. What is it about?

[dwdean]

If you enjoyed Dracula you may want to read Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

i have read Carmella. loved it. Also read Polidori's The Vampyre

[dwdean]

what about Frankenstein. has anyone on here read delved into the work? if there's a previous thread with this content or similar, someone please include a link.

to all; thank you for the suggestions on further readings. i do not, however, agree that Austen is suggesting gothic horrors to be meaningless. there is much to be learned from the philosophy introduced through various classics. take, for example, the natural benevolence of man as presented in Frankenstein. the philosophical context of Dracula is much more difficult to unveil and any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Panglossian]

Never heard of it. What is it about?

In a nutshell: a mansion called Malpertuis (and its weird occupants) seriously messes with a young man's mind in all kinds of macabre ways. Written in the 40s I think. A strange book. Too strange for some I suspect. It was made into a film in 1971 (which I haven't seen) starring Orson Welles. It's currently published by Atlas Anti-classics which, strictly speaking, doesn't make it "a classic" :)

[Dark Muse]

i have read Carmella. loved it. Also read Polidori's The Vampyre

It is not a novel but if you are not already familiar Bram Stoker has a short story called "Dracula's Guest" it was originally meant to be part of Dracula, but was edited out, but became a story of its own.

[LitNetIsGreat]

what about Frankenstein. has anyone on here read delved into the work? if there's a previous thread with this content or similar, someone please include a link.

to all; thank you for the suggestions on further readings. i do not, however, agree that Austen is suggesting gothic horrors to be meaningless. there is much to be learned from the philosophy introduced through various classics. take, for example, the natural benevolence of man as presented in Frankenstein. the philosophical context of Dracula is much more difficult to unveil and any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

I think quite a lot of people will have read Frankenstein and other standard gothic works. If you do a search you are sure to come up with plenty of other threads on it I would have thought.

Austen was being playful to the gothic with her novel, not necessarily critical of the genre, but playful nevertheless. It was the first novel she wrote and was bought and somewhat suppressed by the publishers and not released until after her death. In it, as mentioned, she references a number of gothic texts the most obvious is Radcliffe's Clermont, however she also mentions Castle of Wolfenbach and Mysterious Warnings by Eliza Parsons recently republished but originally thought to have been made up texts. Also mentioned is The Midnight Bell by Francis Lathom. These gothic works and works like them were hugely popular around the end of the 18th century and money spinners for the publishers which is why Northanger Abbey was held back until after her death and the dying down of popularity of the original gothic. Really, you need to read short text The Castle of Otranto as one of the very first gothic texts. The Monk by Matthew Lewis is another standard early gothic too and a good bit of fun.

These texts are not to be confused with the re-emergence of the gothic in the late 19th century found obviously in Dracula, Dorian Gray, Jekyll and Hyde, The Wild Assess Skin by Balzac, Poe as the standard texts. The later gothic is much less sensational in comparison to these works and often darker in nature. Really, however the gothic is a pretty common feature found throughout many Victorian works, think of the Brontes, George Eliot etc, it never really went away but reappeared in more explicit form towards the end of the 19th century.

In terms of Dracula and Frankenstein as works, personally I quite like them both, though none of them are perfect certainly. I feel that Dracula loses something about a third of the way through and Frankenstein's episodic nature doesn't quite work, (although I like novel much more than others do and don't mind Shelley's prose style which is often criticised). This maybe in part due to Shelley's re-working of the original short story from the full novel form (I believe it originally started at the creation scene and Percy encouraged her to develop it, or so the story goes).

[ElliottRose]

speaking of gothic novels, does anyone else like Daphne du Marrier? I think there is a definite gothic quality to her writing - I guess because I've alwasy personally thought as gothic as being a quality of restraint, letting the characters and the scenary do the scary business, without resorting to shock tactics... I know that's not strictly speaking the literary definition though.

[LitNetIsGreat]

speaking of gothic novels, does anyone else like Daphne du Marrier? I think there is a definite gothic quality to her writing - I guess because I've alwasy personally thought as gothic as being a quality of restraint, letting the characters and the scenary do the scary business, without resorting to shock tactics... I know that's not strictly speaking the literary definition though.

I like Rebecca as a novel very much and her other works as adapted by Hitchcock, but I've had a go at some of her other novels and I wasn't as keen, I thought they were pretty standard. Overall though, pretty good.

[Hopfrog]

I love The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft. It has recently been republish'd in an exquisite annotated edition by Tampa University Press. In this novel, Lovecraft pays homage to his beloved city of Providence. But the Gothic elements (the haunted portrait, the macabre double, the pit and its denizens) are expertly handled, and in creating Joseph Curwin Lovecraft defies those who say he had no talent for characterization. Plus, oh honey, it's freakin' scary!!!