Horrid gothic tales courtesy of Isabella Thorpe!

“Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.”
“Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all?”
“I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocketbook. Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont, Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries. Those will last us some time.”
- Northanger Abbey
The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest by Ludwig Flammenberg
Another villainous uncle? This certainly does seem to be a theme. Alphonsus has had his estates and identity stolen after the death of his parents, and is on a mission to get it back.
The Orphan of the Rhine by Eleanor Sleath
Orphaned, heroine Julie de Rubin is living as a recluse with her son Enrico. One day, she is visited by the Marchese of Montferrat, who offers to look after both Julie and her son, in exchange for her caring for the orphan Laurette. As they grow, the two children fall in love, but the villainous Marchese is always lurking, prepared to ruin everything.
The Horrid Mysteries by Carl Grosse
Murder and mayhem! The Marquis of Grosse finds himself fallen in with a secret society which advocates for a very chaotic way of life. Truly horrible, this grim tale hasn't received such glowing reviews, with H.P. Lovecraft describing it as "trash." Oh dear, oh dear.
Of course, if none of these are to your taste, you can always get a trusty Jane Austen novel from our gift shop.
2 comments
I have read Udolpho some time ago, based on it being mentioned in the book. I also ended up reading Jim Thorpe’s favorite The Monk. It was quite horrible really. I can see why it was so scandalous back then.
I quite interested in The castle of Wolfenberg, Clermont and The Orphan of the Rhine. I got all the novels by Ann Radcliffe. Maybe one day ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’ might become a tv series.