The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

 

Title:  The Castle of Otranto

Author:  Horace Walpole

Narrated by:  Thomas Copeland

Publisher: FILROUGEVICEVERSA

Length: Approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole was a May selection for the JASNA Northwoods Book Club.  The Castle of Otranto is considered to be the first Gothic romance novel.  This is the type of novel that Jane Austen mocks in Northanger Abbey. 

The Castle of Otranto is set up like it was a found manuscript from a medieval Italian castle.  Conrad, the heir to the house of Otranto, is mysteriously killed on the day of his wedding to the beautiful Isabella.  After his death, his father, Manfred, makes a series of bad decisions as he tries to continue his dynasty.  Will Manfred be stopped?

I found this novel to be very entertaining and over the top.  Unfortunately the audiobook itself was one of the worst audiobooks I have listened to.  The audio quality was poor, very “tinny,” and it hurt my ears at times.  There was a weird effect where some of the dialogue seemed to be said in an echoey room.  I wasn’t sure why, there was no rhyme or reason to it.  The narrator was monotone.  This fun novel deserves a better audiobook.

Reading this book did make me realize that this genre was rip for satire and I can see it in Northanger Abbey.  It made me wish again that someone would make another movie version of Northanger Abbey that would focus more on the satire in the novel.  We had a good discussion about this book in book club.  It has made me want to read more early gothic novels.