The best part about being an English major is being exposed too many books and authors. In my gothic literature class the first book we read was The Castle of Otranto written by Horace Walpole. Before I started the book, I thought it would be boring, since it's a book for class. However, once I started reading the first few sentences I realized how wrong I was. The book has mystery, suspense, romance, and magic. That combination makes a great book. Another reason why I loved the book so much was because all of the magic and prophecy that is included in the book can be exciting. It is always fun to imagine what life would have been like in the past, or even what life would be like if there were ghosts walking around someone's house.

Not to jump to the end, but what was so great about the book was the fact that some of the characters did not get their "happy ending". One of my biggest pet peeves is how books and movies always have their happy endings. Some movies I will admit should have happy endings. I love to watch comedy movies or little kid movies, and I like to see that the characters are happy at the end. However, some movies should not have their happy endings. Sometimes it would be nice to see the truth, that not everyone is always happy. In this book, at the end, all of the characters do not have what they want. One of the character dies while being proposed too. Another character looses his kingship and does not know what to do. I may be the only one who likes these types of endings, but I am hoping to find more like it.

I really enjoyed the female characters in the novel. I found them to be very empowering, and having control over their lives, as well as controlling the fates of others around them. It is exciting to realize that even though men were supposed to have complete control over their family, the women in the story had control and power. Considering a man wrote the book, it is nice to see that he thought women had power. He could have had the women be silent and not contribute their thoughts or actions. However, if this is how Walpole presented women in his novel, should I, the reader, feel like he has misrepresented the era of the novel? The reason why I love to read books from different time periods is because I love to learn how people lived and behaved during different times. But if I decide to read a novel from the gothic period, than I should expect it not to be a true representation of the time period.

The reason why I say that a book from the gothic period is not a true representation of the period is because there are usually supernatural or magical events going on in the story. In The Castle of Otranto there are ghosts in the castle that continue to pop up throughout the story. Reading about the ghosts popping up can be exciting, never knowing when they're going to show up. With all the supernatural things going on in this novel, has made me realize how much I enjoy reading gothic books. I enjoy everything that happened in this book, and I hope to read more gothic books and see what happens in them. I would love to hear about different gothic novels to read. I am always looking for books to read, but I am always unsure what to get. I would also love to hear what people had to say about The Castle of Otranto and their opinions of the characters.