They have been published by Yale University Press in 48 volumes. His literary reputation rests on the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764), and his Letters, which are of significant social and political interest. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, south-west London, reviving the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors. The author: Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), also known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. The aesthetics of the book shaped modern-day gothic books, films, art, music and the goth subculture. The novel merged medievalism and terror in a style that has endured ever since. In the second edition, Walpole applied the word 'Gothic' to the novel in the subtitle – 'A Gothic Story'. It is generally regarded as the first gothic novel. The book : Rare first US edition of the The Castle of Otranto - a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole. Later they expanded to windmills which became very popular and well-known throughout the US.) In 1845 Babcock founded a company which manufactured wooden pumps and water pipes and other associated pumping. Auteur, Horace Walpole diteur, Joseph Thomas printed by Baker & Darby, London., 1840 Original provenant de, Universit dOxford Numris, 3 oct. First American edition.īinding : Very good full cloth binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed) under a protective removable mylar cover.Ĭontent : Very good content (bright and tight, exlibris on first endpaper of Henry Holmes Babcock from Hamilton, New York where he was born in 1821. Publisher : Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1854. He had recently asked her to marry him on the same evening her own fiance, Manfred’s own son, died by a giant helmet falling from the sky upon him.Title : The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story.

This excerpt opens on a scene where Princess Isabella is fleeing through the castle from the wicked Manfred. This historic Manfred is remembered for being noble, handsome and intellectual, along with being ex-communicated by three different popes.

Many years later it was discovered that the main character, Manfred, was inspired by the real medieval King of Sicily by that name. Set in a haunted castle, the novel produced a new style that has endured ever since, and has shaped the modern-day aesthetic of the goth subculture.Īlthough in later editions of this novel’s publication the author acknowledged his authorship, in the first publication the story was purported to be a recently discovered ancient manuscript from the time of the Crusades. First published in 1764, it is generally regarded as the first gothic novel. Tonight, for our 600th episode, and the next in our October spooky sleep story series, we’ll read an excerpt from “The Castle of Otranto”, a novel by Horace Walpole.

The castle of otranto author