The Castle of Otranto

Generally regarded as the first gothic novel, the initial 1764 edition purported to be a translation based on a manuscript printed at Naples in 1529 and recently rediscovered in the library of "an ancient Catholic family in the north of England". The Castle of Otranto tells the story of Manfred, lord of the castle, and his family, and the ancient prophecy "That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it."