MatthewC Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 I've read a couple of books this year which I'd class (perhaps incorrectly) as gothic fiction and would love to know some classics of the genre that I can seek out to read. I've read Frankenstein, Dracula, The Historian and The Poe Shadow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladd Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Edgar Allan Poe springs to mind or maybe Jane Eyre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Hmmm ...not necessarily of the 'classic' nature, but a series from Jeanne Kalogridis springs to mind. Quite gothic in nature though Covenant with the Vampire (1994) Children of the Vampire (1995) Lord of the Vampires (1996) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 The Woman in Black by Susan Hill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 I'd recommend Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle - this is our current Reading Circle selection and the response has been unanimously positive. Then, technically modern but definitely gothic and definitely worth reading is Carl-Johan Vallgren's The Horrific Sufferings of Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Books do furnish a room Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Poe is an obvious and excellent choice. Another classic write of Victorian Gothic is Joseph Sheridan LeFanu; very creepy ghost stories. It depends how you are defining gothic, but M.R. James also springs to mind. for a decent modern gothic tale try Drood by Dan Simmons Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Radcliffe's The Mysteries Of Udolpho is right up there with the best. The Yellow Wallpaper, whilst quite short, is also worth looking at. I'm not sure if many people really know about it, but I heartily recommend The Mummy by Jane Webb, an antidote to some of the muted and somber material. You should also try your best to read Transformation by Mary Shelley, mentally placing it alongside Frankenstein as a precursor to many of the elements which would go on to become thematic emblems of the genre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Carmilla by J Sheridan Le Fanu is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde There's so much great stuff out there if you dig around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Radcliffe's The Mysteries Of Udolpho is right up there with the best. The Yellow Wallpaper, whilst quite short, is also worth looking at. I'm not sure if many people really know about it, but I heartily recommend The Mummy by Jane Webb, an antidote to some of the muted and somber material. You should also try your best to read Transformation by Mary Shelley, mentally placing it alongside Frankenstein as a precursor to many of the elements which would go on to become thematic emblems of the genre. I LOVE The Yellow Wallpaper! It's one of my favorite short stories. I've also had The Mysteries of Udolpho on my wish list for a long time. And Frankenstein is just plain brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 I'm amazed nobody has mentioned The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde! Another classic favourite of mine is Caleb Williams by William Godwin, for something slightly different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNinthWord Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 I'm amazed nobody has mentioned The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde! I was thinking that too! The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favourite books. I can also recommend The Yellow Wallpaper and Frankenstein. Dracula has an amazing opening section, but I felt a bit disappointed by the novel as a whole. Same with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I recently started reading Poe, and some Lovecraft (though the latter isn't strictly Gothic, it's still quite thrilling) and I love both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 Poe is wonderful. One of his more underrated stories I feel is that of William Wilson. It's about dopplegangers. Actually, you know what? If the OP has any interest the the doppelganger sort of gothic fiction, I would also recommend Somnambulism: A Fragment (a short story) and Edgar Huntly (novel) by Charles Brocken Brown. I discovered both in the course of a project I did for my Poe seminar in university. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.DreamCatcher. Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Hey there! Lucky I'm into the Gothic Fiction genre myself, if you haven't read this yet, I recommend WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I've recently just finished reading this book and absolutely loved it, it's based on revenge and messed up romance. =) Hey there! Lucky I'm into the Gothic Fiction genre myself, if you haven't read this yet, I recommend WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I've recently just finished reading this book and absolutely loved it, it's based on revenge and messed up romance. =) My apologies, but I've forgotten to include the author's name, WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToniLianne Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Have you read The Undead by Dacre Stoker? It's thesequel to the original Dracula book. Dacre is supposed to be his great grand nephew (or something like that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 It's thesequel to the original Dracula book. A word of warning to anyone who picks the book up - do NOT expect the novel to be faithful to the original. He's taken quite a few liberties with the story, and Kim Newman's use of Dracula (ironically, given the Anno Dracula series) actually feels more like the spiritual successor to the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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