you know what? at least the raging misogynist was condemned by the narrative. but this 18th century novel class is a test of my tolerance for misogyny.

Everything I thought the first gothic novel would be. You’ve got that “is it supernatural?” element, dark, foreboding castle, a main character going off the deep end, and a troubled romantic subplot. The narrator of this audiobook was excellent and I’m going to need to see a Mike Flanagan adaptation of this one.

i think there’s a lot of telling instead of showing, but besides that, i really liked all the twists and turns!

A very convoluted story of legacy, rightful heirs, and especially mistaken identity rounds out what’s considered to be the first gothic novel. Nobody knew who anybody was in this story. Jk, but there were some important moments of mistaken or hidden identity that led to some silly and some tragic outcomes. There were some comedic moments too, but overall, it’s a pretty dark novel with a sprinkle of fate and prophecy magic that follows the downfall of a man mad with power who brings the people who love him down with him. 

I listened to a LibriVox recording narrated by Great Plains, who was amazing! The voices and the acting really kept me engaged in the plot. It’s pretty slow starting off, but picks up a lot in the last third. So if you do plan on reading this book, I recommend listening to this version because I likely wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if I read it myself.