4 h 8 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 8 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 101 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 101 pagesAbout this book
A wedding morning turns deadly, and a prince decides the bride must now be his.
In Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, a fatal event shatters an arranged marriage. Manfred, prince of Otranto, fears for his family line and tries to marry the young bride himself. But Isabella refuses his claim and flees through a castle where secret passages offer escape and a curse threatens his hold on power.
Theodore, a bold young peasant, helps Isabella, while Father Jerome offers shelter against Manfred’s demands. Around them, servants hear groans and clanking armour in the dark galleries. Usually called the first Gothic novel, this swift, strange tale brings supernatural terror into a struggle over freedom, family duty, and the cost of holding power.
What you’ll discover
- A castle full of threats Follow secret passages beneath the floors as haunted halls turn refuge into uncertainty.
- A bride who refuses Meet Isabella, whose flight from Manfred makes her freedom an urgent, dangerous struggle.
- Power under a curse Watch Manfred grasp for an heir while an old family wrong shadows his rule.
- Ghosts beyond the doorway Encounter apparitions and unexplained signs that make the castle’s terrors impossible to dismiss.
- The roots of Gothic fiction Discover how Walpole joins old tales of wonder with the fears of everyday life.
Who will love it
For readers who love haunted houses, old curses and the roots of horror stories, and anyone curious about how the Gothic began.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A giant helmet ruins a wedding
- Manfred decides to marry the bride himself
- A friar and a princess take Isabella's side
- Ghostly signs grow louder in the castle
- What the story says about guilt and power
- How Walpole built the first Gothic tale
Who’s who
- ManfredThe prince of Otranto, who holds the castle through a doubtful claim and will do anything to keep it and found a lasting family line.
- HippolitaManfred's gentle, devout wife, who obeys her husband but grieves for her family and shows kindness to everyone around her.
- MatildaManfred's modest, loving daughter, who pities the wronged and is torn between duty to her father and her own heart.
- IsabellaA young noblewoman promised to Conrad, who refuses to be handed to Manfred and flees to protect her honour and freedom.
- Father JeromeA stern friar who shelters Isabella and speaks for the law of the Church against Manfred's plans.
- FredericThe Marquis of Vicenza, Isabella's father, who arrives to claim her and is tempted by a deal with Manfred.
Formats and delivery
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole · 1764
Isabella flees a tyrant prince through a haunted castle, defending her honour and freedom as ghostly signs multiply.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
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In short
A prince's son is crushed by a giant helmet on his wedding morning. That is how The Castle of Otranto begins, and the Gothic novel begins with it.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A giant helmet ruins a wedding
Manfred, prince of Otranto, has arranged for his sickly son Conrad to marry Isabella, the young daughter of the Marquis of Vicenza. On the wedding day Conrad does not come to the chapel. A servant points toward the courtyard in terror.
There lies Conrad, crushed beneath an enormous helmet topped with nodding black plumes. No one can say where it came from. Manfred shows little grief. He is angry, and he looks for someone to blame.
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Isabella flees a tyrant prince through a haunted castle, defending her honour and freedom as ghostly signs multiply.
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Details
- First published
- 1764
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 2 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 101 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 101 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 153 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Large print hardcover
- 153 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives to to Stati Uniti, printed for you at cost
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What is The Castle of Otranto about?
It tells of Manfred, a prince whose son is killed by a giant helmet on his wedding day. Haunted by a prophecy that he will lose his castle, Manfred pursues his son's bride while ghostly signs multiply.
Why is The Castle of Otranto called the first Gothic novel?
It first combined a medieval castle, a tyrant, a threatened young woman, secret passages and openly supernatural events in one novel. Later Gothic writers, including Ann Radcliffe and Mary Shelley, built on this pattern.
Is The Castle of Otranto a true story?
No. Horace Walpole invented it and published it in 1764. He first pretended it was a medieval Italian manuscript he had found and translated, but he admitted in the second edition that it was his own work.
The author
Horace Walpole
1717–1797 · English novelist and letter writer
Horace Walpole (1717–1797) was an English writer and politician. He was born in London and served in Parliament from 1741 to 1768. He lived at Strawberry Hill in Twickenham. His novel The Castle of Otranto appeared in 1764. He also wrote letters and works on history and art.
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