60 Gothic Classics : The Castle of Otranto, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Phantom Ship, The Headless Horseman, The Man-Wolf, The Beetle, The Phantom of the Opera...

Spanning over two centuries of literary innovation, '60 Gothic Classics' is a profound exploration of the gothic tradition in literature, enveloping readers in a world of psychological terror, romanticism, and macabre aesthetics. This anthology seamlessly weaves together a tapestry of styles from the stark terror of the 18th century to the nuanced, symbolic narratives of the early 20th century. The collection showcases the evolution of the genre through well-chosen examples, illustrating how each piece contributes to the development of gothic elements like the sublime, the uncanny, and the grotesque. Standout pieces examine haunted landscapes, tormented characters, and chilling, often supernatural, dilemmas without focusing on individual authorial accomplishments, thus underscoring the genre's collective impact. The contributing authors, ranging from Horace Walpole to Gaston Leroux, bring a variety of backgrounds and voices to this anthology, enriching the thematic scope of the collection. Their works reflect the socio-political anxieties of their respective eras, using the gothic form to address issues of identity, morality, and power. The diversity of the authors, encompassing varying nationalities and historical contexts, provides a panoramic view of the gothic mode, linking classic tropes with their evolution into symbols of cultural and psychological resonance across different periods. '60 Gothic Classics' presents a unique scholarly resource and an enriching literary journey for readers intrigued by the darker aspects of human nature and societal norms. This anthology not only invites literary aficionados but also students and scholars to delve into the depths of gothic fiction, offering a comprehensive understanding of its progression and enduring appeal. The collection serves as both an educational tool and a compelling exploration of genre, making it an essential addition to any literary collection interested in the development of gothic literature and its ongoing dialogue between past and present narratives.

More by Horace Walpole

Skip the list

1045 books
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels—Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion—which observe and critique the British gentry of the late eighteenth century. Her mastery of wit, irony, and social commentary made her a beloved and acclaimed author in her lifetime, a distinction she still enjoys today around the world.
Read more
503 books
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was born to well-known parents: author and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin. When Mary was sixteen, she met the young poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a devotee of her father’s teachings. In 1816, the two of them travelled to Geneva to stay with Lord Byron. One evening, while they shared ghost stories, Lord Byron proposed that they each write a ghost story of their own. Frankenstein was Mary’s contribution. Other works of hers include Mathilda, The Last Man, and The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck.
Read more
1324 books
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer, poet, and critic. Best known for his macabre prose work, including the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” his writing has influenced literature in the United States and around the world.
Read more
528 books
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century.
Read more
700 books
Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo, a major leader of the French Romantic Movement, was one of the most influential figures in nineteenth-century literature. By the age of thirty, he had established himself as a master in every domain of literature--drama, fiction, and lyric poetry. Hugo's private life was as unconventional and exuberant as his literary creations. At twenty, he married after a long, idealistic courtship; but later in life was infamous for his scandalous escapades. In 1851, he was exiled for his passionate opposition to Napoleon III. Hugo's rich, emotional novels, Notre Dame de Paris and Les Miserables, have made him one of the most widely read authors of all time.
Read more
467 books
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sister authors. Her novels are considered masterpieces of English literature – the most famous of which is Jane Eyre.
Read more
351 books
Emily Brontë
Emily Brontë (1818–1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights. The novel’s violence and passion shocked the Victorian public and led to the belief that it was written by a man. Although Emily died young (at the age of 30), her sole complete work is now considered a masterpiece of English literature.
Read more
740 books
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and biographer. His work centres on his New England home and often features moral allegories with Puritan inspiration, with themes revolving around inherent good and evil. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, Dark romanticism.
Read more
360 books
George Eliot
George Eliot, born as Mary Ann Evans in 1819, grew up in England, quickly learning about the Victorian culture around her despite the country¿s increasing growth of industrialism. Eliot did exceptionally well at the boarding schools she attended as a child. Her road to success was being paved. At the age of seventeen her mother died, leaving her to manage the household with the help of her sister. Yet Eliot would become much more than a homemaker. Soon she began writing for the Westminster Review, eventually rising to the rank of assistant editor. It was here where she met the already married George Henry Lewes, with whom she lived until his death. It was this relationship which helped her rise in the ranks of the literary community, eventually becoming a famous author. Eliot’s move to London in 1849 marked a new beginning for her promising career, quickly improving her circle of literary friends. Soon she was disowned by her family when they realized she was living in sin with Lewes, whom she regarded as her true, if not legal, husband. Eliot would also leave her church, deciding that she didn’t believe in the faith any longer. Despite her rejection by her family and others for these matters, Eliot would soon gain acceptance as one of the foremost (and highest paid) novelists of her time. Silas Marner was published in 1861 under the penname of George Eliot, when she was forty-two years of age.
Read more
642 books
Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) began his literary career writing articles and short stories for Dickens' periodicals. He published a biography of his father and a number of plays, but his reputation rests on his novels. Collins is well known for his mystery, suspense, and crime writings. He is best known for his novels in the emerging genres of Sensation and Detective fiction.
Read more
783 books
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson was born on 13 November 1850, changing his second name to ‘Louis’ at the age of eighteen. He has always been loved and admired by countless readers and critics for ‘the excitement, the fierce joy, the delight in strangeness, the pleasure in deep and dark adventures’ found in his classic stories and, without doubt, he created some of the most horribly unforgettable characters in literature and, above all, Mr. Edward Hyde.
Read more
1700 books
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty. This experience influenced ‘Oliver Twist’, the second of his fourteen major novels, which first appeared in 1837. When he died in 1870, he was buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey as an indication of his huge popularity as a novelist, which endures to this day.
Read more
1736 books
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He is the creator of the Sherlock Holmes character, writing his debut appearance in A Study in Scarlet. Doyle wrote notable books in the fantasy and science fiction genres, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels.
Read more
909 books
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 and died on the 30th November 1900. He was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest.
Read more
931 books
H. G. Wells
English author H. G. Wells is best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics, and social commentary, even writing textbooks and rules for war games. He was born on September 21, 1866, and died on August 13, 1946.
Read more
898 books
Henry James
Henry James (1843–1916) was an American writer, highly regarded as one of the key proponents of literary realism, as well as for his contributions to literary criticism. His writing centres on the clash and overlap between Europe and America, and is regarded as his most notable work.
Read more
577 books
Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker was born November 8, 1847, in Dublin, Ireland. Stoker was a sickly child who was frequently bedridden; his mother entertained him by telling frightening stories and fables during his bouts of illness. Stoker studied math at Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 1867. He worked as a civil servant, freelance journalist, drama critic, editor and, most notably, as manager of the Lyceum Theatre. Although best known for Dracula, Stoker wrote eighteen other books, including Under the Sunset, The Snake’s Pass, The Jewel of Seven Stars, The Lady of the Shroud, and The Lair of the White Worm. He died in 1912 at the age of sixty-four.
Read more
608 books
Gaston Leroux
Gaston Leroux was a French journalist and playwright. Born in Paris in 1868, he abandoned a law career to become a court reporter and theater critic; as an international correspondent, he witnessed and covered the 1905 Russian Revolution. Two years later, Leroux left journalism to focus on writing fiction. He authored dozens of novels and short stories, and is considered one of the preeminent French writers of detective fiction. His most famous work, The Phantom of the Opera, was originally serialized in 1909 and 1910. He died in 1927.
Read more

60 Gothic Classics : The Castle of Otranto, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Phantom Ship, The Headless Horseman, The Man-Wolf, The Beetle, The Phantom of the Opera...

Authors:

Format:

Duration:

Language:

Categories:

The Castle of Otranto

Horace Walpole

60 Gothic Classics : Exploring the Haunting Depths of Classic Gothic Literature

Mystique of the Darkness: 100+ Gothic Classics : Exploring the Shadows: A Treasury of Gothic Tales

The Book of Gothic Tales : Dark Fantasy Novels, Supernatural Mysteries, Horror Tales & Gothic Romances

Beware The Silence : Ultimate Collection of Horror Classics, Macabre Tales & Supernatural Mysteries

HALLOWEEN Boxed Set : 550+ Horror Classics, Supernatural Mysteries & Macabre Stories

Warlock's Play: 550+ Supernatural Mysteries, Macabre & Horror Classics : Black Magic, Sweeney Todd, The Vampyre, Dracula, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Frankenstein…

60 Gothic Classics : The Castle of Otranto, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Phantom Ship, The Headless Horseman, The Man-Wolf, The Beetle, The Phantom of the Opera...

The Light Has Been Broken: 560+ Macabre Classics, Supernatural Mysteries & Dark Tales : The Mark of the Beast, The Ghost Pirates, The Vampyre, Sweeney Todd, The Sleepy Hollow…

Something Wicked: 560+ Horror Classics, Macabre Tales & Supernatural Mysteries : The Call of Cthulhu, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde…

The Power of Darkness: 560+ Supernatural Thrillers, Macabre Tales & Eerie Mysteries : The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Haunted House, Dead Souls…

The Greatest Gothic Classics : Frankenstein, The Castle of Otranto, St. Irvyne, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Phantom Ship, The Beetle…

Jane Austen

Mary Shelley

Edgar Allan Poe

Washington Irving

Victor Hugo

Charlotte Brontë

Emily Brontë

Nathaniel Hawthorne

George Eliot

Wilkie Collins

Robert Louis Stevenson

Charles Dickens

Arthur Conan Doyle

Oscar Wilde

H. G. Wells

Henry James

Bram Stoker

Gaston Leroux