June 2017: Ann Radcliffe/Gothic

I haven't read one yet, but I thought I'd set up the thread.

I have an ILL request via my library for this one. Can't be sure it will come in this month, but this is what I'll read as soon as I can, meant for this month:

Hell House / Richard Matheson

>2 LibraryCin: I remember liking that one.

I've had a slow reading month so far, for some reason. I am currently reading The Night Ocean by Paul La Farge. I'm not sure yet if it qualifies, but it is an homage to H.P. Lovecraft's story by the same name, so it very well may fit in the gothic category.

It wasn't gothic, but I did read the new novella by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, Gwendy's Button Box, which I liked a lot.

>3 sturlington: I also can't say for sure if "Hell House" really fits gothic, but I was going by tags. I don't have many on my tbr that are gothic, so it's a tricky one for me.

>4 LibraryCin: I think anything with a spooky house in it qualifies. :-)

>5 sturlington: Ah, yes, of course!

I see the word "gothic" and tend to think of books over 100 years old!

>1 LibraryCin: Thanks for making this thread.

I downloaded the audio for The Mysteries of Udolpho which I am really looking forward to reading, but I am in the middle of Dr. Thorne and I've started Mary Barton so I will finish at least one of those before I proceed with Udolpho.

I don't think I'll get to Ann Radcliffe this month, but I did finish a book that is considered "gothic romance". This is Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer. To tell the truth, I found this a bit of a strange reading experience. The novel seems to be a mix of Heyer's usual humorous lighthearted Regency romance and a creepy psychological thriller. In one scene the heroine would be engaging in witty banter and the next fear for her life. Because of this weird mix, some think of this as a parody of the gothic romance, but I'm not sure this was Heyer's intention. Anyhow, it was an enjoyable if unusual read and there were certainly gothic elements in it.

Hell House / Richard Matheson
3.5 stars

It is just before Christmas, 1970. Parapsychologist Lionel, his wife Edith, and two mediums, Ben and Florence, are hired to spend a week in “Hell House”, the “Mount Everest” of haunted houses. Lionel brings with him a machine he’s built to prove that ghosts do not exist. Ben was an amazing medium at only 15 years old and was in Hell House the last time a group of people entered in 1940; he was the only one to come out alive. Florence is clergy in a small town and a “spiritualist”, or “mental medium”, and very much believes that ghosts are there.

It started off a little slow, but it kept building until the end. Overall, I liked it. Just a warning that the women in the house are pretty much terrorized via sexual violence; whereas, for the men, it’s physical violence. It’s unfortunate that sex was used so much in this book against the women, but rarely any other form of scare tactic.

I just started Volume II of The Mysteries of Udolpho. I will post my thoughts when I'm done.

A bit late, but I also just started a book that I think will fit this category: The Haunting of Maddy Clare.

I finished The Haunting of Maddy Clare. It is a ghost story and bodice ripper in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, readable but not really scary or surprising.