THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO(Illustrated) E-Book

Horace Walpole

• Herausgeber: Micheal Smith
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

• Special Illustrated Edition: Dive into the Gothic Abyss with Exclusive Content
•  Illustrated Edition: Immerse yourself in the visual spectacle with 15 enchanting illustrations that breathe life into the gothic tales of Otranto.
•  Enhanced Reading Experience: Accompanied by a succinct summary to enrich your journey through the dark corridors of Walpole’s imagination.
•  Meet the Cast: A detailed character list to guide you through the twisted fates and entwined destinies of the inhabitants of Otranto.
•  Author Spotlight: Delve deeper with an author biography, exploring Horace Walpole’s eccentric world and his pioneering impact on gothic literature.

  Descend into "The Castle of Otranto": A Haunting Tale of Power, Ambition, and Supernatural Retribution ??
Envelop yourself in the dark and stormy world of Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto," where the eerie shadows cast by ancestral sins linger ominously over the desperate and power-hungry Prince Manfred. Nestled within the imposing walls of Otranto Castle, secrets seep through ancient stones, and the veil between the living and the dead wafts unsettlingly thin.
After the enigmatic and gruesome death of his only son, Manfred, insatiable in his lust for power and unyielding lineage, succumbs to a path darkened by treachery, obsession, and malevolent intentions. The once-majestic castle transforms into a stage where spectral apparitions, tragic love, and the relentless pursuit of destiny unfold, spiraling towards cataclysmic consequence.
"The Castle of Otranto" is heralded as the progenitor of the Gothic novel, weaving a tale where the inexplicably supernatural entwines with the tragically human. Manfred’s unnerving descent into moral decay parallels a cascade of eerie phenomena, as the castle itself groans under the weight of spectral retribution and ancient prophecy.
Within these illustrated pages, the haunting ambiance of the castle, the spectral chill of the supernatural, and the visceral emotions of the characters are vividly brought to life. Each illustration, crafted to enhance your reading experience, draws you deeper into the enigmatic world Walpole so masterfully conjures.
Encounter the uncanny, navigate through the maelstrom of desperate ambition, and witness the inexorable hand of fate within the dark confines of Otranto. This edition, meticulously curated to blend Walpole's timeless narrative with vivid visual and supplementary textual content, invites you to experience this classic gothic tale as never before.
Embark on this haunting journey and witness a tale where the boundaries between the earthly and spectral dissolve, revealing the darkness that lurks within the human soul and the chilling echoes of the unforgotten past.

 

Leseprobe

               THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO                                              

                                               BY                                                        HORACE WALPOLE

ABOUT WALPOLE

Born Horatio Walpole in London on September 24, 1717, Horace Walpole had a profound impact on politics, society, and literature in the eighteenth century. He was the youngest child of Sir Robert Walpole, the country's first prime minister. Walpole had his education at Eton and King's College in Cambridge, and even at an early age, his intelligence was apparent.

Walpole's entry into the literary world was marked by his penchant for Gothic fiction, a genre he is credited with founding. His most famous work, "The Castle of Otranto" (1764), is hailed as the first Gothic novel, setting a precedent for future writers in the genre. This novel was initially published anonymously and claimed to be a translation of an Italian manuscript. It was only in the second edition that Walpole acknowledged his authorship, an act that underscored his innovative spirit and his willingness to challenge literary norms.

Apart from his contributions to literature, Walpole was also a prolific letter-writer. His correspondence, which spans thousands of letters, provides a vivid picture of 18th-century British aristocracy, politics, and culture. His letters are celebrated for their wit, vivid descriptions, and insightful observations, making them valuable historical documents.

Politically, Walpole followed in his father's footsteps to some extent, serving as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1741 and 1768. However, his political career was overshadowed by his literary and cultural pursuits.

Walpole was also known for his architectural interests. He transformed his house in Twickenham, named Strawberry Hill, into a Gothic Revival masterpiece. This house, with its elaborate Gothic style, became an architectural marvel of its time and inspired the Gothic Revival movement in architecture.

Throughout his life, Walpole was a patron of the arts and a collector of curiosities. His collection included paintings, sculptures, and a vast array of artifacts, which were housed in Strawberry Hill. After his death on March 2, 1797, his collection was dispersed in a famous sale known as the "Great Sale of Strawberry Hill."

Walpole's legacy extends beyond his contributions to literature and architecture. He is remembered as a quintessential figure of the Enlightenment in England, embodying the era's values of reason, skepticism, and pursuit of knowledge. His life and works continue to inspire and intrigue scholars and enthusiasts of literature, history, and art.

SUMMARY

"The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole, often hailed as the first Gothic novel, is a captivating tale that blends mystery, suspense, and supernatural elements. Set in the medieval kingdom of Otranto, the story opens with a shocking event: on his wedding day, Conrad, the son of the tyrannical Prince Manfred, is crushed to death by a gigantic helmet. This bizarre occurrence is just the beginning of a series of supernatural incidents that plunge the castle into chaos.

Manfred, driven by a desperate need to preserve his lineage, decides to divorce his wife and marry Isabella, his son's betrothed. Terrified, Isabella flees through the dark and winding passages of the castle, while Manfred's pursuit of her sets off a chain of events involving ghostly apparitions, mysterious prophecies, and the appearance of a mysterious knight.

The novel's atmosphere is steeped in terror and mystery, with the eerie castle serving as a central character in its own right. Its dark halls and secret passageways become the backdrop for a tale of usurped power, forbidden love, and retribution. Ghostly figures and unexplained events keep the reader in a constant state of suspense, while the characters navigate a labyrinth of intrigue and danger.

As the story unfolds, secrets are revealed about the true lineage of the castle's occupants, leading to a dramatic climax that upends the power dynamics within Otranto. The novel not only captivates with its thrilling plot but also comments on issues like the abuse of power and the importance of legitimacy and morality.

"The Castle of Otranto" is not just a novel; it's a groundbreaking work that established the foundations of the Gothic genre. Its blend of the supernatural, romance, and horror has influenced countless authors and continues to be a seminal work in the history of English literature.

CHARACTERS LIST

This book is features a cast of characters integral to its gripping Gothic narrative:

Prince Manfred: The ruler of Otranto, Manfred is a tyrannical and impulsive character. His primary concern is to preserve his lineage and power, leading him to make drastic and often immoral decisions.

Conrad: The son of Manfred and Hippolita. Conrad is the unfortunate heir whose sudden and mysterious death triggers the events of the novel.

Princess Hippolita: Manfred's wife, characterized by her piety and submissiveness. She is devoted to her husband and children, despite Manfred's harshness and ambition.

Isabella: The young and beautiful fiancée of Conrad, who becomes the object of Manfred's unwanted attentions after Conrad's death. Her virtue and courage are central to the plot as she resists Manfred's advances and seeks to escape his clutches.

Matilda: The kind and gentle daughter of Manfred and Hippolita. She becomes entangled in the tragic events of the castle, particularly through her relationship with Theodore.

Theodore: A young peasant of noble character who plays a key role in the novel. He is revealed to have a surprising connection to the castle and its history.

Father Jerome: A priest with a mysterious past. He is a moral and stabilizing presence in the narrative and has a significant connection to Theodore.

The Giant Helmet and Armor: Supernatural elements that symbolize the curse and prophecy surrounding the castle. They play a crucial role in advancing the plot and in the revelation of the castle's secrets.

Frederic: A Marquis who arrives later in the story. He has his own claim to the principality of Otranto and plays a pivotal role in the unraveling of the plot.

These characters are woven into a narrative that combines elements of the supernatural, romance, and tragedy, set against the backdrop of the dark and mysterious Castle of Otranto. The interactions among these characters under the shadow of an ancient prophecy drive the suspense and intrigue of this Gothic masterpiece.

Contents

Introduction

Preface To The First Edition

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Introduction

Horace Walpole was the youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, the great statesman, who died Earl of Orford.  He was born in 1717, the year in which his father resigned office, remaining in opposition for almost three years before his return to a long tenure of power.  Horace Walpole was educated at Eton, where he formed a school friendship with Thomas Gray, who was but a few months older.  In 1739 Gray was travelling-companion with Walpole in France and Italy until they differed and parted; but the friendship was afterwards renewed, and remained firm to the end.  Horace Walpole went from Eton to King’s College, Cambridge, and entered Parliament in 1741, the year before his father’s final resignation and acceptance of an earldom.  His way of life was made easy to him.  As Usher of the Exchequer, Comptroller of the Pipe, and Clerk of the Estreats in the Exchequer, he received nearly two thousand a year for doing nothing, lived with his father, and amused himself. 

Horace Walpole idled, and amused himself with the small life of the fashionable world to which he was proud of belonging, though he had a quick eye for its vanities.  He had social wit, and liked to put it to small uses.  But he was not an empty idler, and there were seasons when he could become a sharp judge of himself.  “I am sensible,” he wrote to his most intimate friend, “I am sensible of having more follies and weaknesses and fewer real good qualities than most men.  I sometimes reflect on this, though, I own, too seldom.  I always want to begin acting like a man, and a sensible one, which I think I might be if I would.”  He had deep home affections, and, under many polite affectations, plenty of good sense. 

Horace Walpole’s father died in 1745.  The eldest son, who succeeded to the earldom, died in 1751, and left a son, George, who was for a time insane, and lived until 1791.  As George left no child, the title and estates passed to Horace Walpole, then seventy-four years old, and the only uncle who survived.  Horace Walpole thus became Earl of Orford, during the last six years of his life.  As to the title, he said that he felt himself being called names in his old age.  He died unmarried, in the year 1797, at the age of eighty. 

He had turned his house at Strawberry Hill, by the Thames, near Twickenham, into a Gothic villa—eighteenth-century Gothic—and amused himself by spending freely upon its adornment with such things as were then fashionable as objects of taste.  But he delighted also in his flowers and his trellises of roses, and the quiet Thames.  When confined by gout to his London house in Arlington Street, flowers from Strawberry Hill and a bird were necessary consolations.  He set up also at Strawberry Hill a private printing press, at which he printed his friend Gray’s poems, also in 1758 his own “Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors of England,” and five volumes of “Anecdotes of Painting in England,” between 1762 and 1771.

Horace Walpole produced The Castle of Otranto in 1765, at the mature age of forty-eight.  It was suggested by a dream from which he said he waked one morning, and of which “all I could recover was, that I had thought myself in an ancient castle (a very natural dream for a head like mine, filled with Gothic story), and that on the uppermost banister of a great staircase I saw a gigantic hand in armour.  In the evening I sat down and began to write, without knowing in the least what I intended to say or relate.”  So began the tale which professed to be translated by “William Marshal, gentleman, from the Italian of Onuphro Muralto, canon of the Church of St. Nicholas, at Otranto.”  It was written in two months.  Walpole’s friend Gray reported to him that at Cambridge the book made “some of them cry a little, and all in general afraid to go to bed o’ nights.”  The Castle of Otranto was, in its own way, an early sign of the reaction towards romance in the latter part of the last century.  This gives it interest.  But it has had many followers, and the hardy modern reader, when he read’s Gray’s note from Cambridge, needs to be reminded of its date.

H. M.

Preface To The First Edition

The following work was found in the library of an ancient Catholic family in the north of England.  It was printed at Naples, in the black letter, in the year 1529.  How much sooner it was written does not appear.  The principal incidents are such as were believed in the darkest ages of Christianity; but the language and conduct have nothing that savours of barbarism.  The style is the purest Italian. 

If the story was written near the time when it is supposed to have happened, it must have been between 1095, the era of the first Crusade, and 1243, the date of the last, or not long afterwards.  There is no other circumstance in the work that can lead us to guess at the period in which the scene is laid: the names of the actors are evidently fictitious, and probably disguised on purpose: yet the Spanish names of the domestics seem to indicate that this work was not composed until the establishment of the Arragonian Kings in Naples had made Spanish appellations familiar in that country.  The beauty of the diction, and the zeal of the author (moderated, however, by singular judgment) concur to make me think that the date of the composition was little antecedent to that of the impression.  Letters were then in their most flourishing state in Italy, and contributed to dispel the empire of superstition, at that time so forcibly attacked by the reformers.  It is not unlikely that an artful priest might endeavour to turn their own arms on the innovators, and might avail himself of his abilities as an author to confirm the populace in their ancient errors and superstitions.  If this was his view, he has certainly acted with signal address.  Such a work as the following would enslave a hundred vulgar minds beyond half the books of controversy that have been written from the days of Luther to the present hour. 

This solution of the author’s motives is, however, offered as a mere conjecture.  Whatever his views were, or whatever effects the execution of them might have, his work can only be laid before the public at present as a matter of entertainment.  Even as such, some apology for it is necessary.  Miracles, visions, necromancy, dreams, and other preternatural events, are exploded now even from romances.  That was not the case when our author wrote; much less when the story itself is supposed to have happened.  Belief in every kind of prodigy was so established in those dark ages, that an author would not be faithful to the manners of the times, who should omit all mention of them.  He is not bound to believe them himself, but he must represent his actors as believing them. 

If this air of the miraculous is excused, the reader will find nothing else unworthy of his perusal.  Allow the possibility of the facts, and all the actors comport themselves as persons would do in their situation.  There is no bombast, no similes, flowers, digressions, or unnecessary descriptions.  Everything tends directly to the catastrophe.  Never is the reader’s attention relaxed.  The rules of the drama are almost observed throughout the conduct of the piece.  The characters are well drawn, and still better maintained.  Terror, the author’s principal engine, prevents the story from ever languishing; and it is so often contrasted by pity, that the mind is kept up in a constant vicissitude of interesting passions.

Some persons may perhaps think the characters of the domestics too little serious for the general cast of the story; but besides their opposition to the principal personages, the art of the author is very observable in his conduct of the subalterns.  They discover many passages essential to the story, which could not be well brought to light but by their naïveté and simplicity.  In particular, the womanish terror and foibles of Bianca, in the last chapter, conduce essentially towards advancing the catastrophe. 

It is natural for a translator to be prejudiced in favour of his adopted work.  More impartial readers may not be so much struck with the beauties of this piece as I was.  Yet I am not blind to my author’s defects.  I could wish he had grounded his plan on a more useful moral than this: that “the sins of fathers are visited on their children to the third and fourth generation.”  I doubt whether, in his time, any more than at present, ambition curbed its appetite of dominion from the dread of so remote a punishment.  And yet this moral is weakened by that less direct insinuation, that even such anathema may be diverted by devotion to St. Nicholas.  Here the interest of the Monk plainly gets the better of the judgment of the author.  However, with all its faults, I have no doubt but the English reader will be pleased with a sight of this performance.  The piety that reigns throughout, the lessons of virtue that are inculcated, and the rigid purity of the sentiments, exempt this work from the censure to which romances are but too liable.  Should it meet with the success I hope for, I may be encouraged to reprint the original Italian, though it will tend to depreciate my own labour.  Our language falls far short of the charms of the Italian, both for variety and harmony.  The latter is peculiarly excellent for simple narrative.  It is difficult in English to relate without falling too low or rising too high; a fault obviously occasioned by the little care taken to speak pure language in common conversation.  Every Italian or Frenchman of any rank piques himself on speaking his own tongue correctly and with choice.  I cannot flatter myself with having done justice to my author in this respect: his style is as elegant as his conduct of the passions is masterly.  It is a pity that he did not apply his talents to what they were evidently proper for—the theatre. 

I will detain the reader no longer, but to make one short remark.  Though the machinery is invention, and the names of the actors imaginary, I cannot but believe that the groundwork of the story is founded on truth.  The scene is undoubtedly laid in some real castle.  The author seems frequently, without design, to describe particular parts.  “The chamber,” says he, “on the right hand;” “the door on the left hand;” “the distance from the chapel to Conrad’s apartment:” these and other passages are strong presumptions that the author had some certain building in his eye.  Curious persons, who have leisure to employ in such researches, may possibly discover in the Italian writers the foundation on which our author has built.  If a catastrophe, at all resembling that which he describes, is believed to have given rise to this work, it will contribute to interest the reader, and will make the “Castle of Otranto” a still more moving story.

SONNET TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LADY MARY COKE.

The gentle maid, whose hapless taleThese melancholy pages speak;Say, gracious lady, shall she failTo draw the tear adown thy cheek?

No; never was thy pitying breastInsensible to human woes;Tender, tho’ firm, it melts distrestFor weaknesses it never knows.

Oh! guard the marvels I relateOf fell ambition scourg’d by fate,From reason’s peevish blame.Blest with thy smile, my dauntless sailI dare expand to Fancy’s gale,For sure thy smiles are Fame.

H. W.

Chapter I

Manfred, Prince of Otranto, had one son and one daughter: the latter, a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda.  Conrad, the son, was three years younger, a homely youth, sickly, and of no promising disposition; yet he was the darling of his father, who never showed any symptoms of affection to Matilda.  Manfred had contracted a marriage for his son with the Marquis of Vicenza’s daughter, Isabella; and she had already been delivered by her guardians into the hands of Manfred, that he might celebrate the wedding as soon as Conrad’s infirm state of health would permit.