{"product_id":"three-gothic-novels-the-castle-of-otranto-vathek-the-vampyre-9780486212326","title":"Three Gothic Novels: The Castle of Otranto  Vathek  The Vampyre","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the most interesting phenomena in the history of literature  the Gothic novel  which flourished from about 1765 to 1825  still has much to offer to the modern reader. Supernatural thrills  adventure and suspense  colorful settings  and  in the better examples  literary quality are all present. Unfortunately  true Gothic novels (not simply modern detective stories called \"Gothic\") are extremely rare books  and have never been as available as they should be.The first member in this collection  Horace Walpoles TheCastle of Otranto  published as a Christmas book for 1764  was the first and one of the greatest members of the genre. It has also been one of the most influential books in history. It motivated the Gothic revival in the arts  and it probably did more to usher in the early-19th-century Romanticism than any other single work. It also served as the model in plot  characterizations  settings  and tone for hundreds  perhaps thousands of successors.Vathek  by the eccentric British millionaire William Beckford  is generally considered to be the high point of the Oriental tale in English literature. Certainly no one has ever written (in any European tongue) a story which better unifies the stirrings of Gothic romanticism with the color  poetry  and vivacity of the original Arabian Nights.The third novel in this collection  John Polidors Vampyre  emerged from the same soires of ghost-story telling in Geneva that produced Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. The first full-length vampire story in English  it initiated a very important literary chain that also leads up to the present. Included with Polidoris novel is Lord Byrons little-known Fragment  from which Polidori (who was Byrons physician in Switzerland) plagiarized his plot.These three novels (and the fragment) are still well worth reading. Generations of readers have found thrills and horrors in Walpoles fine work  while Vathek cannot be excelled in its unusual mixture of the bizarre  cruel irony  and masterful narration. Polidoris thriller still conveys chills  and the Fragment makes us all wish that Byron had completed his novel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45276433973301,"sku":"ByrdShop_0486212327","price":65.81,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780486212326.jpg?v=1780551339","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/three-gothic-novels-the-castle-of-otranto-vathek-the-vampyre-9780486212326","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}