{"product_id":"9781486414246","title":"The Castle of Otranto - The Original Classic Edition","description":"The Original Ghotic Novel: Manfred is an usurpator who wants to consolidate his reign over Otranto. So he tries to marry his weak son to Isabella, heir to a more legitimate prince. But there is an old prophecy which warns against such moves, and the day of the wedding a gigantic iron helmet falls over Manfreds sons head. Then, a creepy -mostly funnily creepy- tale develops. But the plot, though wild and entertaining, is the least important thing about this 1764s novel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe really attractive, entertaining and literarily important thing is the creation of stereotypes: the foul weather; an ancient, dark castle full of closed halls, secret passages, corridors and doors; frightening apparitions; wicked tyrants desperate for fertile women; virtuous and pure ladies; heroic lads; dark and cold forests where ghosts appear, etc. Walpole, who seems to have been an interesting man, must have had enormous fun writing this tone-setting book, which has had plenty of children in literature. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen I read it I kept imagining the scenes, the settings and the weather, and it was great to imagine it come alive. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is fun to read and to discover where many of the commonplaces in Gothic literature come from. Well worth it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Emereo Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47157017051376,"sku":"9781486414246","price":7.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781486414246_p0.jpg?v=1763634751","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781486414246","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}