The Castle of Otranto

The masterpiece that started the Gothic craze. The Castle of Otranto by Walpole is believed to have begun the Gothic genre. Dark foreboding castles, ghosts, damsels in distress, murder, intrigue, high melodrama-- this has it all. It purports to be a translation of a work printed in Naples in 1529 that has been newly discovered in the library of 'an ancient Catholic family in the north of England'. The novel tells the story of Manfred, the prince of Otranto, who is keen to secure the castle for his lineage in the face of a terrifying curse. At the beginning of the work Manfred's son, Conrad, is crushed to death by an enormous helmet on the morning of his wedding to the beautiful Princess Isabella. Faced with the extinction of his line, Manfred vows to divorce his wife and marry the terrified Isabella himself.