Gothic Literature as a Tradition : A Study of Gothic Novels

The Gothic novel or The Gothic romance is a type of prose fiction which was inaugurated by Horace Walpole’s “The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story” (1764) and flourished through the early nineteenth century. The Gothic novel creates an effect of horror terror fear suspense mystery supernatural superstition etc. The Gothic elements play a significant role not only in English Literature but also in other Literature. This Book is an attempt to analyze the origin of Gothic novel its trends developments and its themes.The Book is divided into four parts. First part would deal with “Gothic Literature Tradition”. Second part is a complete study of Horace Walpole’s “The Castle of Otranto” Ann Radcliffe’s “Mysteries of Udolpho” and Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”. Furthermore it would discuss about Gothic Literature in Other Languages: ‘Chandrakanta Santati’ a novel by Devaki Nandan Khatri written in Hindi language. Last part would be present a comparative study of “Chandrakanta Santati” and “The Castle of Otranto” and Movies in terms of Gothic romance.