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    The Castle of Otranto
    The Castle of Otranto
    The Castle of Otranto
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Castle of Otranto

    Written by Horace Walpole

    Narrated by Neville Jason

    3/5

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    About this audiobook

    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 turmoils of the characters themselves. Horace Walpole's tale, an immediate success when it first appeared in 1764, is a classic of its genre.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateAug 14, 2014
    ISBN9781843798668

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    Reviews for The Castle of Otranto

    3/5

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    • 3/5
      When I first opened this book I was confronted by page after page of almost continuous text with virtually no paragraph breaks and no quotation marks or any way of marking when one person stops speaking and the next begins. This made it difficult to follow the dialogue but otherwise the story is easy enough to understand considering it was published in 1764.Manfred, the Prince of Otranto, has arranged a marriage between his fifteen year old son Conrad and the princess Isabella. However, on the day of the wedding Conrad is found crushed to death in the courtyard beneath an enormous black feathered helmet which appears to have fallen from the sky. As his son is obviously now in no position to go ahead with the wedding, Manfred decides to marry Isabella himself...but Isabella has other ideas. Cue a never-ending chain of misunderstandings, coincidences and mayhem.The Castle of Otranto is historically important because it was the first gothic novel - complete with haunted castles, underground tunnels, damsels in distress, knights, ghosts and paintings that move - but don't expect a piece of great literature. In places the plot is so ridiculous and the writing so melodramatic that it's actually hilarious.The Castle of Otranto is funny and entertaining – and very short – but I can't imagine ever wanting to read it again. For a better introduction to gothic fiction I would recommend The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, which is a longer book but much better written.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Halfway through the story, a young peasant says, "I am no impostor, my Lord, nor have I deserved opprobrious language. I answered to every question your Highness put to me last night with the same veracity that I shall speak now: and that will not be from fear of your tortures, but because my soul abhors a falsehood. Please to repeat your questions, my Lord; I am ready to give you all the satisfaction in my power."

      WTF? I can only assume that this melodrama is a joke, for it is so elaborately ridiculous that any other conclusion is impossible. As a joke, it is funny but rather too long. Near the end, the main "villain" stabs his daughter in the heart. She has a chapter-long death scene, during which there is a lot of fainting, shouting, long expostulations of heritage, and really awful "old-timey" language. The very last paragraph details how her lover and her foster sister end up marrying so they can share their "meloncholy" till the end of their days.
    • 3/5
      Widely accepted as the original Gothic novel, it establishes something of the tone and tropes that most readers will recognise in later, and better works. If you’re expecting Poe, Lovecraft, Shelley, or similar in intensity of mood, ingenuity of plot, or anything resembling immersive credibility, then you won’t find it here. Take it for what it is though, an original, and for its time (1765) groundbreaking little piece of whimsical artifice, and you might enjoy it.
    • 3/5
      "Let the critics have their own way; they give me no uneasiness. I have not written the book for the present age, which will endure nothing but cold common sense". -- Walpole, letter to Madame du Deffand (1765?)The novel doesn't read as smoothly or engagingly as a thriller written today, but it's chock-a-block full of arresting scenes and images: the Prince's teen heir crushed beneath a giant casque falling from nowhere; an ancestral portrait leaves its frame, displeased with events; rumour of incest and forced betrothal; secret passages and trap doors; mute knights; duels between champions; a hermit in haunted caverns by the sea; riddles and portents; a praying skeleton & a bleeding statue.These are punctuated with mad designs and intrigues by a large cast of characters, scheming against one another and initially it is bedlam, unclear to me which are in the right and deserving of my support."It was his object to unite the marvellous turn of incident, and imposing tone of chivalry, exhibited in the ancient romance, with that accurate exhibition of human character, and contrast of feelings and passions, which is, or ought to be, delineated in the modern novel." -- Sir Walter Scott, Introduction (1811)Scott later chastises Walpole for putting too much into the novel, overfilling it with supernatural events such that our fear and terror are overwhelmed. I allow there are a great many of what now count as cliché and stereotype; for me these keep the story aloft. If anything, with a poor recollection of the details from reading years ago, I worried there would be too little in the way of weird or wondrous, so Walpole's largesse was welcome."The Castle Of Otranto ... is not so much a novel as a state of mind." -- Marvin Mudrick, Introduction (1963)This 2022 re-reading was more or less an impulse read in the spirit of Hallowe'en. I should consider Vathek for next season.
    • 2/5
      The writing is really hard to follow and the story wasn't as fascinating as it seemed it would be. It was kind of disappointed.
    • 1/5
      Characters in Victorian horror novels are always feeling jumpy having read this before bed, so I finally did as well to see what the fuss was about. There are almost no thrills or chills at all in the entire story; it’s a social melodrama that sounds like the absurd and convoluted plot of a Victorian opera, only without music. The moment any character enters a spooky scene alone, several others rush in to argue or sword fight or beseech each other to do things. The author rambles on at length in the preface(s!) like a drunk professor talking at anyone within earshot about obscure historical Voltaire facts you can tell were his pet talking point/ outrage. Horace seems like he may have been a tiresome fellow.
    • 3/5
      Well, that was...fun. Seriously, that was some major dramaaaaaaa.
    • 3/5
      It's dark, it's supernatural, it's emotional, and outrageous enough to see how it spawned a trail of works and a new literary genre. It's brief, if one considers events and not the length of the sentences in the heavily worded dialogue, so it's almost best to go in blind. It starts fast, so there isn't much place for soaking in plot. I read the first two chapters but found the flow of the narrative and sparse line breaks in my text to be a dizzying read so I switched to audio book and found it easier to follow and easier to feel and enjoy. If you prefer reading to audio, I recommended glancing at the state of the text to make sure it won't be a headache to follow. It wasn't so much difficult, I feel, as an effort of stamina so as not to lose my place from glancing away for a moment. Perhaps this actually assists with the gasping wonder with which the characters take in the events at Otranto.
    • 3/5
      I found The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole to be an odd yet entertaining story about a tyrant knight called Manfred, Prince of Otranto, and his family. Considered to be the father of Gothic romance fiction this fantasy is set in the middle ages, and is peopled by characters experiencing strong emotional and psychological distress. The story develops around a supernatural event that occurs at the beginning of the story and causes the death of Manfred’s only son and heir. Unfolding in a castle that comes with underground passages, sealed vaults, and trap doors, my favorite part of the story was when the young Princess Isabella, fearful for her virtue, is running away from Manfred through the dark and haunted castle.In a melodramatic yet playful manner the story has the evil usurper, the noble yet humble rightful heir, two virtuous princesses and a host of other characters running around the Castle of Otranto confronting vanishing giants, pieces of enormous armour, moving artwork and each other.This deceptively simple story deals with issues of inheritance, power and morality and religion. It is important to remember that this novel is the first of its kind and the plot, which appears overworked and familiar today is, indeed, the first of it’s kind and did cause quite a sensation in it’s day.
    • 3/5
      We are all reptiles, miserable, sinful creatures. It is piety alone that can distinguish us from the dust whence we sprung, and whither we must return.

      The Goodreads reviews of this pioneer work are a caravan of groans; how sophisticated we've since become with our forensics and our shape-shfting (very-meta) protagonists. I may shudder and say, whoa, and allow the blush to fade from our consternation. Otranto is ridiculous, sure, but it is damn charming. Anyone ever encountered a contrivance or laughable twist in the Bard or even Nabokov: the car which killed Charlotte Haze dented our credulity, didn't it? I say onward with the GIANT HELMET! What lurks beneath is but prophesy and paternity. Walpole's book offers little in terms of fear. The pacing and revelation are no more haunting than a production of Hamlet. The notion of it being a "found" medieval text gives it sufficient distance to unnerve our sense of legacy.
    • 3/5
      Taken in the context of when it was written, and the fact that it was new to the genre, I can advise that it’s wortwhile reading it. I found it entertaining overall even if it was so,ewhat difficult because of the way dialogue is embeshed within paragraphs- one has to pay continuous attention to follow who is saying what.However, I could not but find many of the passages hilarious, partly because of the extreme situations kn which the characters are placed.
    • 2/5
      The evil prince Manfred plots to marry his deceased son's fiancé but is thwarted. This is the ancestor of all gothic novels. Poor prose, but it does move at a steady pace for the 18th Century. Best read for a course requirement. I have no idea of which edition I read in 1971, but the information relates to the current Oxford paperback edition.
    • 3/5
      Considered a gothic masterpiece, I found this to be a clever little novel of a crumbling monarchy in it's final days. You can certainly see how it influenced later works of both fantasy and more conventional literature. A number of convoluted machinations, some patent villainy, lots of life-changing revelations, and just a few hints of the supernatural. I honestly could have done with a little less of the domestic implosion of the household and a little more of the fantastical elements, but it is what it is. My one major complaint is the dialogue is not formatted in the modern style of quotation marks and individually indented paragraphs, separated only by commas, periods and dashes, somewhat inconsistently too, making it somewhat tricky to read, though I managed well enough once I found the conversational rhythm in each passage.
    • 2/5
      I tried, just could not make hide nor hair of it. I got the jist of the story, but either I just found it simply too boring or missed a crucial element somewhere along the line.Of course I can see how gothic after was inspired by this, but I was expecting something a bit different.I loved the settings but just did not connect with any of the characters.
    • 4/5
      The original gothic novel, this reads preposterously if you don't know its pedigree. Gigantic elements of armour appear in the story without warning (though they are warnings in themselves), crushing the hapless and frightening other characters who respond as anyone might when faced with such inexplicable events: horror, shock, dismay, fear. It's the meshing of these that brought this novel lasting acclaim, however ridiculous its events now appear to a modern reader. I'm afraid I laughed in a few places I wasn't supposed to, but with a better understanding came a greater appreciation. It's a comfortably short read, and at least an interesting curiosity.
    • 3/5
      This book must be read in the knowledge that it is more than 250 years old. It is the original Gothic fiction. The story is somewhat gripping, although the dialogue is not punctuated as we would now expect, making you think twice about who is saying what at times. The spectre of the giant knight seems to fade away at the end, almost like the let-down from bad B-grade special effects but in literary form. I felt like every character actually liked to ball their eyes out every few minutes, too. But, taken in context, it is an enjoyable read. Only don't read the introduction and avoid checking the notes at every instance. Like many classic, the introduction, prefaces and notes are now longer than the story itself. It had to be read, and now it is done. If you are a fan of Gothic, then this is like what Evil Dead is to modern horror, or what Sherlock Holmes is to the modern detective story.
    • 4/5
      I read this as part of research for an essay on The Gothic Novel, so I went back to this as the original example of the genre. I wasn't disappointed: supernatural elements, love triangles, masterful villain, meek heroines and good-looking yet virtuous hero. Truly sensational for its time. Well done, Horace.
    • 3/5
      Not the most memorable of novels. It's three years since I read it yet even skimming other people's reviews and the synopsis hasn't jogged my memory!Well, I gave it three stars after finishing the book, so must've liked it, though clearly it's left no impression on me.
    • 3/5
      Read on serial reader. A classic early gothic novel, this is very dated. But somehow it is so bad it is kind of good. The mystical is not explained, characters are killed off left and right, and surprises abound.I am not even clear where this is supposed to take place--England, or generic continental Europe?
    • 2/5
      A castle and abbey with secret tunnels. A dark landscape, lecherous villains, supernatural visions, a hero with a secret lineage, and beautiful and imperiled women (with a tendency toward the hysterical).What more can you ask for :)As an exploration of the history of literature this “granddaddy” of the gothic novel is interesting and a lot of fun. This is not my favorite genre at all - and the plot is so contrived that you want to laugh - and do laugh a lot of times.This is the kind of literature Catherine Morland loves in Northanger Abbey - as she asks in anticipation of yet another thrilling read: “Is it really horrid?”. Yes, Catherine. It is indeed.
    • 3/5
      I can appreciate the impact that Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto" had on storytelling and literature, but it's a novel that certainly hasn't aged well. Considered the first Gothic novel, it weaves together a terrific tale of tragedy with supernatural elements just accepted by everyone as real.The story centers around a prince named Manfred, the villain of the piece, and the tragedies that befall his family because his grandfather usurped the throne. There are romantic elements, including a fight between two girls over a future husband as well as plenty of fainting and coincidences to propel the story along.I found the plot interesting, even while rolling my eyes at the characters' reactions. This is a definitely a book that I'm glad I read just for the history behind it, rather than for the story itself.
    • 3/5
      This doesn't take long to read, although it does take a while if you happen to pick up an edition with 60 pages of introduction, and only 160 pages of story! I picked it up after watching the recent BBC series on Gothic in art (used all encompassingly). This was discussed in some detail, as it is regarded as the first Gothic novel. Not a genre I can say I have read a great deal of, but it was enough to spark my interest. Set over quite a short timeframe it's your average power crazed prince of a (presumably) Italian city state. It's also set in an unidentified timeframe, there are references to the crusades, but you're meant to think "in olden dayes", rather than a specific period, I think. Anyway, our tyrant has arranged for his son & heir to wed. Only, before he can do so, disaster strikes in a most unusual manner. At this point he turns entirely dolally and intends to divorce his wife (for only providing him with a son and daughter) then wed his son's betrothed, Isabella. She is, understandably, less than impressed, and manages to escape the prince and seek refuge in the chapel of the convent. In this she is abetted by a young man, supposedly a peasant, who turns up a few times as the book progresses. It is all wonderfully overblown and theatrical, the special effects you'd need would be worthy of a blockbuster film. By the end, there is a certain amount of resolution, although poor old Isabella seems to end up with the fuzzy end of the lollypop. It's neat and tidy, but not satisfactory. There is also some explanation of who the young man is, and how he came to turn up when he did, but that doesn't explain the supernatural elements that remain central to the plot. It's fun, it's not a difficult read, it's hardly shocking, but I imagine to shook the Victorians to their very core. An interesting beginning.
    • 3/5
      This is considered the first gothic horror novel, originally written in 1764. Conrad is found dead, just as he was to marry Isabella. Manfred (Conrad's father) then decides to divorce his wife and marry Isabella instead. Isabella is horrified and runs away with the help of a mysterious stranger... It was ok. It started off better for me, but I was listening to the audio and as does sometimes tend to happen with audios with me, I get distracted and miss parts of the story, which unfortunately is what happened here. I wonder if I would have liked it more if I'd read it in print? It was set in a creepy gothic castle, so the setting was fun.
    • 1/5
      This was one of those works I found on a poll called Great Books You Must Read Before You Die. It was number 34 of the world's greatest novels. They lied. Don't bother.
    • 1/5
      To put it blunt, this book is rubbish, and I must admit that my English lecturer, when he spoke on this book, pretty much said just as much. In fact the only reason the English Department included this book on the reading list is because it has the distinction of being the first gothic horror book written. Okay, maybe it is the first, but it really does very little to make it stand out from among all the other books of much higher quality that were written afterwards. Hey, they even had an essay question on it.Anyway, this is a classic example of a child of a very famous person using his father's influence to get rubbish published. I suspect that it happens quite a lot these days as well (Jessica Rudd), though I must admit that even being able to pull strings to get books published does not necessarily mean that anybody will actually read, and then recommend, the book (though that seems not to be the case with Campaign Ruby).You might actually be wondering who Horace Walpole is and what is father did to make him so famous. To be quite honest with you, until I had gone to the lecture on this book, I had never heard of Horace Walpole, or any other Walpoles that he might have been related to, however, if you were living in England in 1764, you certainly would have heard of Robert Walpole, namely because he was, next to the king, the most powerful man in England. In fact, Robert Walpole holds the record for being the longest serving British Prime Minister ever (twenty-one years in total). These days, ten years as Prime Minister is an effort, however unless the country has descended into a one party state, it is highly unlikely, in today's political climate, that anybody could last twenty years (though Robert Menzies did last 16 and Franklin Delanore Roosevelt lasted 13).It was not so much different back then either, though the voting franchise was severely restricted and cabinet appointments were made by the king. Getting elected into parliament, especially if you were a member of the aristocratic class, was not just easy, it was a right. There was no universal franchise, or proper electoral boundaries. In fact, one could live in an electorate (known as a borough) where the only person who could vote was you, so whenever an election came along you would vote for yourself (and why not) and you would automatically get elected. However, politicians didn't get paid back then, which also made it difficult for the lower classes to become politicians).I seem to have written nothing about the book, but then again, it is such rubbish that I personally really don't want to write anything about it. As for the concept of Gothic Horror, in a way it doesn't actually strike any chords in my memory. I guess I do not see any distinction with Gothic Horror. Hell, I can't even define it (not that I really want to) or even has the desire to jump over to Wikipedia to see if they say anything about it. I guess I am simply not interested in determining any definition for the genre. Okay, there are other 'Gothic Horror' books on my read list, however I would probably just put them more into horror than Gothic Horror. If anything, though, thinking over the books and films we explored, I suspect Gothic Horror deals more with concepts of horror (much like what I wrote about in Carrie) rather than a simple slasher flick. Silence of the Lambs is a horror (and a very good horror at that) but it is not a slasher flick. Far from it. However, this book is horror in name only. If I really wanted to categorise it, I would probably put it into a category called rubbish, however, that is what the rating is for.
    • 2/5
      What a silly book! My nose hurts from snorting. At first I was thinking "This would be great filmed by Ed Wood." but then I decided it would be more suited to a staging by the Monty Python troupe. It even features a giant foot at one point!
    • 3/5
      The Castle of Otranto is one of those must-read noteworthy books, but heck if I know why. It is listed as the first gothic novel and has those elements of romance and horror. But, I must say, gothic novels have come a looong way. This had many elements that we stereotype and mock - the fair maiden who above all else, must maintain her virtue and the evil villain whose goal in life is to make sure she fails. Ok reading for the historical sense, but not outstanding.
    • 4/5
      Described as "one of the first and greatest of Gothic novels." I'm not so sure about the "greatest" part, but it was a good read. On the death of his son, medieval prince Manfred decides to divorce his wife and marry his son's betrothed, Isabella. However, a young peasant intervenes, and when all the surprises and mistaken identities are revealed, the ending, though not a happy one, puts everything in its place. Except, of course, the statue in the church...
    • 3/5
      In The Castle of Otranto, Manfred is determined to keep his family in power, which means he needs an heir. When his engaged son dies by being crushed by a statue's helmet, Manfred resolves to marry his son's betrothed, Isabella, and produce heirs so that his family can live on. Understandably, Isabella doesn't want to marry the man who was going to be her father-in-law and leads Manfred on a merry chase throughout the castle and its surrounding area.If you take this book seriously, I'm not sure how enjoyable it is. The supernatural elements are a bit out of sync with the plot itself -- they aren't integrated well into the whole story. The characters are more like caricatures, and the end is quickly tied up into a haphazard bow. I know that if I looked at it as a serious piece of fiction, I would have hated it. Luckily, I found it all a bit funny. Yes, it's an important novel since it's considered the first Gothic novel, and yes, it's a "classic" and deals with themes like family, power, gender stereotypes, etc. But that doesn't mean you have to take the plot seriously, and I certainly didn't.It all started with Conrad being mysteriously crushed by a statue's helmet. Then, bits and pieces of the statue started appearing in the castle for no apparent reason. I just couldn't take it seriously. If you like the overly dramatic, bit of fun Gothic story, I think you'd really enjoy this. It has crazy twists and turns (you can definitely see a Shakespearean influence in this), and without including much character building, internal dialogue or much character self-reflection, the story moves along at a brisk pace. The writing may be a bit hard to understand (it is an eighteenth-century book, after all, and the editors have kept all the weird commas, lack of paragraph breaks, and misspellings), but if you read period lit, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. All in all, fun if you want to see what supposedly started the whole Gothic thing, but not something I'd want to enjoy a glass of wine and relax with.
    • 5/5
      [Northanger Abbey]
      I think this is my favorite of Austen's works. It lacks any of the great romances that make her so popular amongst filmmakers and book clubs, but it shows off her greatest asset: her intelligence. Austen is, of course, famous for her wit and keen observations of social mores, and those are also put on display in Northanger Abbey. But this is one of the all-time great satires, demonstrating that she was capable of more than merely reproducing the world around her.

      This is the book that makes me wonder what Austen would be like if she was alive today. Time and critical reception have pigeon-holed her; she's recognized as a great talent, but I think she's often dismissed as well. She's about more than just female empowerment and laughing at the way people acted in the 1800s. Austen's books are all about how people communicate, and it's still relevant today.