The Castle of Otranto (Version 2)


Read by Thomas A. Copeland

(4.2 stars; 38 reviews)

The Castle of Otranto is regarded as the first Gothic novel, a genre appealing to a taste for terror and set in a remote past when prodigies and magic can be imagined to have existed, with violent contrasts between purity and ungoverned passions. The author represents the tale as having been translated from a black letter Italian volume of the 15th century but describing much earlier events. This fictional antiquity and the depiction of mysterious wonders, dark subterranean passages, fearsome apparitions, marvelous coincidences, and especially a savage threat to spotless innocence are all typical of this genre, which does not assure a reader of a happy ending. (Summary by Thomas Copeland) (4 hr 4 min)

Chapters

Introductory 13:47 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 1 49:59 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 2 50:02 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 3 46:21 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 4 43:58 Read by Thomas A. Copeland
Chapter 5 40:06 Read by Thomas A. Copeland

Reviews

Is this a comedy or a tragedy?


(4 stars)

I really did laugh out loud so many times listening to this book. The narrator was excellent and seemed to find it amusing, too. As a Gothic tale it did have women appear to be almost slaves to their men. The apparitions were supposed to be scary but well, they were not. Overall I enjoyed it probably due to the excellent narration.

A fantastic classic, creator of the Gothic genre


(5 stars)

If you enjoyed classics like Dracula, Carmilla, Frankenstein, HP Lovecraft's stories or even Shakespeare, you'll be glad to be acquainted with the book that started the Gothic genre. The volume of the narration could be higher but overall it was a fantastic reading and the narrator did a wonderful job.


(4 stars)

This was very exciting and really crazy. I liked it