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Five Gothic Masterpieces: The Mysteries of Udolpho, The Great God Pan, Frankenstein, Carmilla, and Dracula
The iconic Gothic horror classics that gave birth to the monstrous myths that still inhabit our nightmares.
Tragic heroines, windswept moors, dark and stormy nights, castle prisons, and forbidden desires realized at the greatest cost—these are the elements of Gothic horror, given its finest expression in these five enduring novels.
Frankenstein : Obsessed with the secret of creation, Swiss scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein cobbles together a body he is determined to bring to life. When the creature opens his eyes one fateful night, the doctor is His vision of perfection is a hideous monster. Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation, but the furious, lonely monster will not be ignored, setting in motion a chain of violence and terror. A gripping story about the ethics of creation and the consequences of trauma, Frankenstein is as relevant today as it is haunting.
Dracula : Upon a visit to Transylvania, young English lawyer Jonathan Harker makes a horrifying discovery about Castle Dracula and its resident count, who survives on the blood of human beings. Thus a battle of wits ensues between the vicious count and his various adversaries in this legendary Gothic novel of horror, dark romance, and chilling suspense.
Carmilla : Published twenty-five years before Stoker’s Dracula , Carmilla is the passionate, thrilling tale of a mysterious young woman’s dramatic arrival at an isolated castle. The innocent Laura has never seen anyone like the seductive, secretive Carmilla, except in her dreams—and an antique portrait, which resembles the visitor perfectly, down to the mole on her tempting neck. Laura quickly realizes there is something far more dark and sinister about Carmilla than meets the eye.
The Great God Pan : When Mr. Clarke agrees to visit his friend Dr. Raymond, he is dubious about the proceedings he is to witness. In pursuit of what Raymond calls “transcendental medicine,” the doctor intends to make a small incision in a woman’s brain, allowing her to see past the world of the senses to a reality beyond imagining—a realm where, Raymond says, one can see the great god Pan. Stephen King has called The Great God Pan “one of the best horror stories ever written.”
The Mysteries of Udolpho : Orphaned heroine Emily St. Aubert has been imprisoned by Signor Montoni, her evil guardian, in his gloomy medieval fortress in the Apennines. Terror is the order of the day inside the walls of Udolpho, as Emily struggles against Montoni’s rapacious schemes and the threat of her own psychological disintegration. A bestseller in its day and a potent influence on Walpole and Poe, this dreamlike, nearly hallucinatory classic remains one of the most important works in the history of European fiction.
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Tragic heroines, windswept moors, dark and stormy nights, castle prisons, and forbidden desires realized at the greatest cost—these are the elements of Gothic horror, given its finest expression in these five enduring novels.
Frankenstein : Obsessed with the secret of creation, Swiss scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein cobbles together a body he is determined to bring to life. When the creature opens his eyes one fateful night, the doctor is His vision of perfection is a hideous monster. Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation, but the furious, lonely monster will not be ignored, setting in motion a chain of violence and terror. A gripping story about the ethics of creation and the consequences of trauma, Frankenstein is as relevant today as it is haunting.
Dracula : Upon a visit to Transylvania, young English lawyer Jonathan Harker makes a horrifying discovery about Castle Dracula and its resident count, who survives on the blood of human beings. Thus a battle of wits ensues between the vicious count and his various adversaries in this legendary Gothic novel of horror, dark romance, and chilling suspense.
Carmilla : Published twenty-five years before Stoker’s Dracula , Carmilla is the passionate, thrilling tale of a mysterious young woman’s dramatic arrival at an isolated castle. The innocent Laura has never seen anyone like the seductive, secretive Carmilla, except in her dreams—and an antique portrait, which resembles the visitor perfectly, down to the mole on her tempting neck. Laura quickly realizes there is something far more dark and sinister about Carmilla than meets the eye.
The Great God Pan : When Mr. Clarke agrees to visit his friend Dr. Raymond, he is dubious about the proceedings he is to witness. In pursuit of what Raymond calls “transcendental medicine,” the doctor intends to make a small incision in a woman’s brain, allowing her to see past the world of the senses to a reality beyond imagining—a realm where, Raymond says, one can see the great god Pan. Stephen King has called The Great God Pan “one of the best horror stories ever written.”
The Mysteries of Udolpho : Orphaned heroine Emily St. Aubert has been imprisoned by Signor Montoni, her evil guardian, in his gloomy medieval fortress in the Apennines. Terror is the order of the day inside the walls of Udolpho, as Emily struggles against Montoni’s rapacious schemes and the threat of her own psychological disintegration. A bestseller in its day and a potent influence on Walpole and Poe, this dreamlike, nearly hallucinatory classic remains one of the most important works in the history of European fiction.
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
1749 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2017
38 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Ann Radcliffe
598 books728 followersAnn Ward Radcliffe of Britain wrote Gothic novels, including
The Mysteries of Udolpho
(1794).
This English author pioneered.
William Radcliffe, her father and a haberdasher, moved the family to Bath to manage a china shop in 1772. Radcliffe occasionally lived with her uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea in partnership with a fellow Unitarian, Josiah Wedgwood. Although mixing in some distinguished circles, Radcliffe seemingly made little impression in this society, and Wedgwood described her as "Bentley's shy niece."
In 1787, she married William Radcliffe, the Oxford graduate and journalist. He often came home late, and to occupy her time, she began to write and read her work when he returned. They enjoyed a childless but seemingly happy marriage. Radcliffe called him her "nearest relative and friend". The money she earned from her novels later allowed them to travel together, along with their dog, Chance.
She published The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne in 1789. It set the tone for the majority of her work, which tended to involve innocent, but heroic young women who find themselves in gloomy, mysterious castles ruled by even more mysterious barons with dark pasts.
Her works were extremely popular among the upper class and the growing middle class, especially among young women. Her works included A Sicilian Romance (1790), The Romance of the Forest (1791), The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), and The Italian (1796). She published a travelogue, A Journey Through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany in 1795.
The success of The Romance of the Forest established Radcliffe as the leading exponent of the historical Gothic romance. Her later novels met with even greater attention, and produced many imitators, and famously, Jane Austen's burlesque of The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey, as well as influencing the works of Sir Walter Scott.
Stylistically, Radcliffe was noted for her vivid descriptions of exotic and sinister locales, though in reality the author had rarely or never visited the actual locations. Shy by nature, she did not encourage her fame and abandoned literature as a pursuit.
She died on February 7, 1823 and was buried in Saint George's Church, Hanover Square, London.
This English author pioneered.
William Radcliffe, her father and a haberdasher, moved the family to Bath to manage a china shop in 1772. Radcliffe occasionally lived with her uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea in partnership with a fellow Unitarian, Josiah Wedgwood. Although mixing in some distinguished circles, Radcliffe seemingly made little impression in this society, and Wedgwood described her as "Bentley's shy niece."
In 1787, she married William Radcliffe, the Oxford graduate and journalist. He often came home late, and to occupy her time, she began to write and read her work when he returned. They enjoyed a childless but seemingly happy marriage. Radcliffe called him her "nearest relative and friend". The money she earned from her novels later allowed them to travel together, along with their dog, Chance.
She published The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne in 1789. It set the tone for the majority of her work, which tended to involve innocent, but heroic young women who find themselves in gloomy, mysterious castles ruled by even more mysterious barons with dark pasts.
Her works were extremely popular among the upper class and the growing middle class, especially among young women. Her works included A Sicilian Romance (1790), The Romance of the Forest (1791), The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), and The Italian (1796). She published a travelogue, A Journey Through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany in 1795.
The success of The Romance of the Forest established Radcliffe as the leading exponent of the historical Gothic romance. Her later novels met with even greater attention, and produced many imitators, and famously, Jane Austen's burlesque of The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey, as well as influencing the works of Sir Walter Scott.
Stylistically, Radcliffe was noted for her vivid descriptions of exotic and sinister locales, though in reality the author had rarely or never visited the actual locations. Shy by nature, she did not encourage her fame and abandoned literature as a pursuit.
She died on February 7, 1823 and was buried in Saint George's Church, Hanover Square, London.
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