Northanger Horrid Novels
Encyclopedia
The Northanger Horrid Novels are seven early works of Gothic fiction
recommended by Isabella Thorpe to Catherine Morland in Jane Austen
's novel Northanger Abbey
(1818):
The complete titles and authors of these books are:
These books, with their lurid titles, were once thought to be the creations of Jane Austen's imagination, but research in the first half of the 20th century by Michael Sadleir
and Montague Summers
confirmed that they did actually exist and stimulated renewed interest in the Gothic. All seven were republished by the Folio Society in London in 1968, and as of 2006, Valancourt Books was planning to reprint all seven books.
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
recommended by Isabella Thorpe to Catherine Morland in Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's novel Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be completed for publication, though she had previously made a start on Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. According to Cassandra Austen's Memorandum, Susan was written approximately during 1798–99...
(1818):
- “Dear creature! how much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished UdolphoThe Mysteries of UdolphoThe Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe, was published in four volumes on 8 May 1794 by G. G. and J. Robinson of London. The firm paid her £500 for the manuscript. The contract is housed at the University of Virginia Library. Her fourth and most popular novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho follows...
, we will read The ItalianThe Italian (novel)The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents is a Gothic novel written by the English author Ann Radcliffe. It is the last book Radcliffe published during her lifetime...
together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.” - “Have you, indeed! How glad I am! — What are they all?”
- “I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocket-book. Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont, Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries. Those will last us some time.”
- “Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?”
- “Yes, quite sure; for a particular friend of mine, a Miss Andrews, a sweet girl, one of the sweetest creatures in the world, has read every one of them.”
The complete titles and authors of these books are:
- Castle of Wolfenbach (1793) by Eliza ParsonsEliza ParsonsEliza Parsons was an English gothic novelist. Her most famous novels in this genre are The Castle of Wolfenbach and The Mysterious Warning - two of the seven gothic titles recommended as reading by a character in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey.-Life:Many different speculations have been...
. London: Minerva PressMinerva PressMinerva Press was a publishing house, noted for creating a lucrative market in sentimental and Gothic fiction in the late 18th century and early 19th century...
. - Clermont, a Tale (1798) by Regina Maria RocheRegina Maria RocheRegina Maria Roche is considered today to be a minor Gothic novelist who wrote very much in the shadow of Ann Radcliffe. She was, however, a best seller in her own time...
. London: Minerva Press. - The Mysterious Warning, a German Tale (1796) by Eliza Parsons. London: Minerva Press.
- The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black ForestThe Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black ForestThe Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest is a gothic novel by Ludwig Flammenberg first published in 1794...
(1794) by 'Ludwig Flammenberg' (pseudonym for Carl Friedrich Kahlert; translated by Peter Teuthold). London: Minerva Press. - The Midnight BellThe Midnight BellThe Midnight Bell is a gothic novel by Francis Lathom. It was one of the seven "horrid novels" lampooned by Jane Austen in her novel Northanger Abbey....
(1798) by Francis LathomFrancis LathomFrancis Lathom was a British gothic novelist and playwright.-Biography:Francis Lathom was born on the 14 July of 1774, either in Rotterdam, Holland, where his father, Henry, conducted business for the East India Company and returning to England around 1777, settling near Norwich, or he was born in...
. London: H. D. Symonds. - Orphan of the Rhine (1798) by Eleanor Sleath. London: Minerva Press.
- Horrid MysteriesHorrid MysteriesThe Horrid Mysteries, subtitled "A Story From the German Of The Marquis Of Grosse" is a translation by Peter Will of the German Gothic novel Der Genius by Carl Grosse. It was listed as one of the seven "horrid novels" by Jane Austen in her Northanger Abbey and also mentioned by Thomas Love Peacock...
(1796) by the Marquis de Grosse (translated by P. Will). London: Minerva Press.
These books, with their lurid titles, were once thought to be the creations of Jane Austen's imagination, but research in the first half of the 20th century by Michael Sadleir
Michael Sadleir
Michael Sadleir was a British novelist and book collector.-Biography:He was born Michael Sadler, though upon beginning to publish novels he altered the spelling of his name to differentiate himself from his father, Michael Ernest Sadler, a historian and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds...
and Montague Summers
Montague Summers
Augustus Montague Summers was an eccentric English author and clergyman. He is known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his idiosyncratic studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe...
confirmed that they did actually exist and stimulated renewed interest in the Gothic. All seven were republished by the Folio Society in London in 1968, and as of 2006, Valancourt Books was planning to reprint all seven books.