From Badelynge
Manfred is having a really bad day. No really, he's having a really, really bad day. It all starts with his son being crushed to death by a gigantic helmet that falls out of the sky. And his day is going to get much worse.
The Castle of Otranto was written in 1764 by Horace Walpole. So many times I have heard the name of this book being dropped by literary historians citing its place as the forerunner to the gothic novel, works that would include author's such as Poe, Stoker and Du Maurier. In fact the book is little more than fluff that just happens to contain a castle and a penchant for the romantic, the unlikely and the plain ridiculous. ( )

Granting that this book has an important place in popular literature; granting that it influenced 'Gothic' writing for decades, and that its echoes can be heard today, granting all this, unless this is assigned to you in some class, don't waste your time. I have read other early Gothic novels, The Monk, Melmoth the Wanderer, Frankenstein, etc., and crude as they were they were light years ahead of Otranto. Spare yourself. Two stars for its historical curiosity, nothing else. ( )

In the first chapter of this novel, a giant helmet falls on a prince’s head; after that, things start getting weird. Manfred is the impetuous and tyrannical prince of Otranto, and his family is living under a curse: if he cannot keep his family line going, he’ll be stripped of his title and ousted from his lands. He hopes to marry his son Conrad to Isabella, the daughter of a rival claimant for the land of Otranto; but after the giant helmet kills that dream, he decides to divorce his wife and marry Isabella himself. This decision is not very popular with anyone else in the story, and it leads to many dramatic and supernatural consequences, including: ghosts, secret passageways, duels, lost heirs, talking skeletons, and (of course) death.

The Castle of Otranto is widely acknowledged to be the first gothic novel, so I was excited to read it for its contributions to the genre. It’s certainly not a very good novel from an objective standpoint. The characters are mostly cardboard cutouts: the wicked usurper, the beautiful and virtuous maiden, the noble and chivalrous youth of deceptively humble origins. The plot, too, is so wildly improbable that it’s more hilarious than scary. However, I suspect that the humor might have been intentional; and regardless, I found the novel very enjoyable despite its ridiculousness. It’s also interesting to see the origin of so many conventions of the gothic novel, like past secrets, big scary houses, threats of sexual danger, and supernatural occurrences. Anyone who’s interested in the literature of the time period (as well as anyone who wants a good laugh!) should read this book.

In 1764 when Walpole published The Castle of Otranto it was a unique style of writing. With the inclusion of the supernatural, ambiance of mystery, hidden passageways, violent love affairs, and unclear identities, The Castle of Otranto marked the birth of the Gothic novel. A lovely accomplishment as far as I'm concerned.

The main problem with reading the novel today, however, is laughter. Laughter where it doesn't belong. The high drama and ridiculousness of events is a bit too much for me. For example, I have never in my life read a book, a serious book, where the inciting incident is the death of a young man by helmet squashing. Seriously, Conrad, son of Manfred the prince of Otranto, a sickly 15 year old boy, dies when a gigantic helmet falls on him. Following is a series of sightings involving super-sized body parts and armour...hmmm...

My second problem with the novel is the directly abusive, condescending, and violent attitude the male characters have towards the women. The four female characters - Bianca, Isabella, Hippolita, and Matilda - are alternately physically assaulted, emotionally abused, verbally reprimanded, or completely ignored. While I understand this as both a convention of Gothic writing and a commonplace of the time period, I still cringe at the nonchalant inclusion of such misogyny.

All that being said, however, I enjoyed the book. It was a quick trip through a fantastical world where ancestors come back as giant ghosts, monks reveal their human side, peasants make good, and pictures walk. ( )

Absolutely over the top and more wonderful for it, READ THE TWO INTRODUCTIONS, it makes all the difference in the world, especially if you know the different reactions from his audiences. I had to read this book for a class and ended up keeping it instead of turning it in.
Credited as being the first of the Gothic horror genre, Walpole hits many of the stereotypes (the damsel in distress, the Pagan curse handed down through Christian generations, etc) and thumbs his nose at others. I don't even like Gothic fiction and I kept this book. ( )