The Gothic novel, which flourished from about 1765 until 1825, revels in the hor
rible and the supernatural, in suspense and exotic settings. This volume, with i
ts erudite introduction by Mario Praz, presents three of the most celebrated Got
hic novels: "The Castle of Otranto", published pseudonymously in 1765, is one of
the first of the genre and the most truly Gothic of the three. "Vathek" (1786),
an oriental tale by an eccentric millionaire, exotically combines Gothic romant
icism with the vivacity of The Arabian Nights and is a narrative tour de force.
The story of "Frankenstein" (1818) and the monster he created is as spine-chi
lling today as it ever was; as in all Gothic novels, horror is the keynote.
