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The Castle of Otranto

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The Castle of Otranto

By: Horace Walpole
Narrated by: Neville Jason
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About this listen

The Castle of Otranto is regarded as the first Gothic novel. The son of Manfred, Prince of Otranto, is mysteriously killed on his wedding day by a huge helmet. The event leads to a fast-paced story of jealous passion, intrigue, murder, and supernatural phenomena unfolding in an atmosphere of thunderclaps, moonlight, and dark castle walls mirroring the inner turmoil of the characters themselves. Horace Walpole's tale, an immediate success when it first appeared in 1764, is a classic of its genre.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2014 Naxos AudioBooks Classics Gothic Historical Fiction Horror Scary Romance Fiction
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What did you like most about The Castle of Otranto?

There are some wonderful moments of 'humanity' in here -like the princesses debate over who gets the man. Shows how little human nature has changed over the centuries.

Would you be willing to try another book from Horace Walpole? Why or why not?

The language is archaic - I doubt I could read it but audio makes it accessible.

Have you listened to any of Neville Jason’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The book that launched a thousand goths

Any additional comments?

Very interesting from the historical view point - but now it is more pantomime than gothic. Would make a good stage play or film.
May be 'rewrite' into modern language and setting cf romeo & julliet and west side story would do well. The essense of the story is strong.

A Gothic pantomime

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I enjoyed this. It was very well read. Castle of Otranto is one of the first gothic texts, and is wonderfully mad and macbre.

Lots of fun, a good find

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