The Castle of Otranto

<p>Clara Reeve's early gothic novel The Old English Baron is paired with Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto the work that inspired it.</p><p> </p><p>Hers is the story of Edmund the peasant-hero who discovers his rightful heritage through mysterious portents and whose loyalty and integrity are put to the test in bringing the villain to justice.</p><p> </p><p>With an emphasis on probability and domestic virtue The Old English Baron plays an important role in the transformation of the gothic genre.</p><p> </p><p>While the Castle of Otranto initiates a tradition of horror with violent deaths tyrannical power and tragic doom.</p><p> </p><p>The Old English Baron redirects the gothic towards homosocial bonding paternal goodness and ultimately sentimental domesticity.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Fond of medieval romance and mystery as a dilettante's diversion and with a quaintly imitated Gothic castle as his abode at Strawberry Hill Walpole in 1764 published The Castle of Otranto; a tale of the supernatural which was destined to exert an almost unparalleled influence on the literature of the weird. - H. P. Lovecraft Supernatural Horror in Literature</p><p> </p><p> </p>