Read Around the Subject English – Gothic Recommended Reading List

Breathe Author: McNish, Cliff Jack is used to danger. His asthma has nearly killed him more than once. But his new home has a danger he's never known before -the spirits of the dead. They can't breather. But in Jack's house they can chase, hide, scream. Only Jack can see them. Only he can hear them. And only he can learn their secrets in time to save his mother - and himself...

Frankenstein Author: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Obsessed with the idea of creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material with which to fashion a new being, shocking his creation to life with electricity. But this botched creature, rejected by its creator and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy Frankenstein and all that he holds dear. Mary Shelley's chilling gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Lord Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of Gothic horror, and Frankenstein's monster an instantly-recognisable symbol of the limits of human creativity. Based on the third edition of 1831, this volume contains all the revisions Mary Shelley made to her story, as well as her 1831 introduction and Percy Shelley's preface to the first edition. A terrifying vision of scientific progress without moral limits, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein leads the reader on an unsettling journey from the sublime beauty of the Swiss alps to the desolate waste of the arctic circle.

My Swordhand Is Singing Author: Sedgwick, Marcus In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in Chust and despite the in hospitability of the villagers settle there as woodcutters. Tomas digs a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so they have their own little island kingdom. Peter doesn't understand why his father has done this, nor why his father carries a long battered box everywhere they go, and why he is forbidden to know its mysterious contents. But when a band of gypsies comes to the village Peter's drab existence is turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy princess, Sofia, intoxicated by their love of life and drawn into their deadly quest. For these travellers are Vampire Slayers and Chust is a dying community - where the dead come back to wreak revenge on the living. Amidst the terrifying events that follow, Peter is stunned to see his father change from a disillusioned man to the warrior hero he once was. Marcus draws on his extensive research of the vampire legend which permeates traditions throughout the world and sets his story in the forbidding and remote landscapes of the 17th century. Written in his usual distinctive voice, this is also the story of a father and his son, of loss, redemption and resolution.

White Crow Author: Sedgwick, Marcus It's summer. Rebecca is an unwilling visitor to Winterfold - taken from the buzz of London and her friends and what she thinks is the start of a promising romance. Ferelith already lives in Winterfold - it's a place that doesn't like to let you go, and she knows it inside out - the beach, the crumbling cliff paths, the village streets, the woods, the deserted churches and ruined graveyards, year by year being swallowed by the sea. Against her better judgement, Rebecca and Ferelith become friends, and during that long, hot, claustrophobic summer they discover more about each other and about Winterfold than either of them really want to, uncovering frightening secrets that would be best left long forgotten. Interwoven with Rebecca and Ferelith's stories is that of the seventeenth century Rector and Dr Barrieux, master of Winterfold Hall, whose bizarre and bloody experiments into the after-life might make angels weep, and the devil crow.

Northanger Abbey Author: Austen, Jane Young Catherine Morland, the heroine of NORTHANGER ABBEY, has a vivid imagination which thrives on mysterious strangers and haunted ruins. When she meets the handsome Henry Tilney, her fantasies lead her into disastrous errors of judgment. Jane Austen's first novel, Northanger Abbey-published posthumously in 1818-tells the story of Catherine Morland and her dangerously sweet nature, innocence, and sometime self-delusion. Though Austen's fallible heroine is repeatedly drawn into scrapes while vacationing at Bath and during her subsequent visit to Northanger Abbey, Catherine eventually triumphs, blossoming into a discerning woman who learns truths about love, life, and the heady power of literature. The satirical Northanger Abbey pokes fun at the gothic novel while earnestly emphasizing caution to the female sex. This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the first edition of 1818. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Nightshade #2 Author: Wood, Maryrose A dark, gothic tale of romance… and murder. The latest book in the grippingly dark series, The Poison Diaries. Our heroine, Jessamine, has lost her faith in the men she loved, and her innocence as well. She turns to the dark side and plots to kill her father, using his own poisons, before becoming an assassin, a poisoner for hire. Can she recover from her heartache and reunite with her true love, Weed? Find out in this thrilling story where poisons, darkness and horror are a part of everyday life, and love is the only cure.

Count Karlstein Author: Pullman, Philip No one in the village of Karlstein dares to leave their homes on All Souls' Eve - the night Zamiel the Demon Huntsman comes to claim his prey. But the evil Count Karlstein has struck a terrible bargain with Zamiel, and so the lives of his two young nieces, Lucy and Charlotte, are in danger. Their only hope lies with Hildi, a castle maidservant, and her fearless brother Peter. Can they save the girls from their dreadful fate? Only one thing is certain - the Demon Huntsman will not return to his dark wood unsatisfied! A deliciously terrifying and wickedly funny Gothic tale, Count Karlstein is the first-ever children's book by Philip Pullman, winner of the Whitbread Award, the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Fiction Award and two Smarties Awards. Originally published in 1982, this new edition of Count Karlstein is a treat no Pullman fan should miss. Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, The (14+) Author: Hogg, James Robert Wringham's family is composed of a dissolute father and brother, a pious mother, and a rival father in the person of a fanatical Calvinist minister. He comes to believe that he is one of the elect, predestined to be saved, while others are damned. Sure of his freedom from the dictates of morality, he embarks on a series of crimes in the company of a new friend Gil-Martin, a man of many likenesses who can be mistaken for Robert, and who explains that they are as one in the holy work of purifying the world. But who is Gil-Martin? And what does he truly desire? The Gothic double or doppelganger is nowhere more powerfully imagined than in 'Confessions of a Justified Sinner', once called 'the greatest novel of Scotland'. James Hogg's 'The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner' is a Scottish classic, a quintessentially Gothic tale of psychological horror, and a relentless attack on Calvinist dogma. The 'Penguin Classics' edition is edited with an introduction and notes by Karl Miller.

Constable and Toop Author: Jones, Gareth P Sam Toop lives in a funeral parlour, blessed (or cursed) with an unusual gift. While his father buries the dead, Sam is haunted by their constant demands for attention. Trouble is afoot on the 'other side' - there is a horrible disease that is mysteriously imprisoning ghosts into empty houses in the world of the living. And Sam is caught in the middle - will he be able to bring himself to help? Blue Peter Award winner Gareth P. Jones has woven a darkly comic story, a wonderfully funny adventure that roams the grimy streets of Victorian London.

Dracula Author: Stoker, Bram Vampires, werewolves, creatures dead and yet still living abound amidst people determined to eliminate them. There lay the Count, but looking as though his youth had been half-restored. For the white hair and moustache were changed to iron-grey... The mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mount and ran down over the chin and neck. Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood.

Tales of Terror From the Black Ship Author: Priestley, Chris Not for the faint-hearted, 'Tales of Terror from the Black Ship' is packed with chills, thrills, nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping revelations.

Screaming Staircase, The #1 Author: Stroud, Jonathan When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . . For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions. Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive. Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror Author: Stevenson, Robert Louis He put the glass to his lips and drank at one gulp... his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter' Published as a 'shilling shocker', Robert Louis Stevenson's dark psychological fantasy gave birth to the idea of the split personality. The story of respectable Dr Jekyll's strange association with 'damnable young man' Edward Hyde; the hunt through fog-bound London for a killer; and the final revelation of Hyde's true identity is a chilling exploration of humanity's basest capacity for evil. The other stories in this volume also testify to Stevenson's inventiveness within the Gothic tradition: 'Olalla', a tale of vampirism and tainted family blood, and 'The Body Snatcher', a gruesome fictionalisation of the exploits of the notorious Burke and Hare. This edition contains a critical introduction by Robert Mighall, which discusses class, criminality and the significance of the story's London setting. It also includes an essay on the scientific contexts of the novel and the development of the idea of the Jekyll-and-Hyde personality.

Hard Times Author: Dickens, Charles In Hard Times, Thomas Gradgrind raises his kids Tom and Louisa to learn facts and only facts. Consequently, Louisa marries a man she doesn't love, and Tom robs the bank he works at. This edition of Dickens's novel is one of a series consisting of unabridged versions of 19th-century classics, with introductions, glossaries, and activities for individuals, pairs and groups.

Mister Creecher Author: Priestley, Chris Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mister Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target...Victor Frankenstein. Friendship, trust and betrayal combine to form a dangerous liaison in this moving and frightening new book from Chris Priestley.

Book of Dead Days, The #1 Author: Sedgwick, Marcus THE DAYS BETWEEN Christmas and New Year’s Eve are dead days, when spirits roam and magic shifts restlessly just beneath the surface of our lives. A magician called Valerian must save his own life within those few days or pay the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. But alchemy and sorcery are no match against the demonic power pursuing him. Helping him is his servant, Boy, a child with no name and no past. The quick-witted orphan girl, Willow, is with them as they dig in death fields at midnight, and as they are swept into the sprawling blackness of a subterranean city on a journey from which there is no escape.

Mysteries of Udolpho, The (14+) Author: Radcliffe, Ann Emily St Aubert lives with her loving, enlightened parents in exquisitely happy rural isolation. But when she is tragically orphaned, the beautiful young woman is thrown on the mercy of her heartless aunt's sinister new husband. The villainous Signor Montoni has designs upon his wife's fortune, and that of her niece, and imprisons them in the gloomy medieval castle Udolpho. Separated from her beloved Valancourt, Emily must cope with torments of wild imaginings and terrors, as ghostly omens and attempts upon her virtue and life threaten to overwhelm her. One of the most popular novels of its time, 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' continues to grip readers with its vivid characters, its sublime Alpine settings and its dramatic sense of suspense and danger. With its insightful portrayals of her protagonist's inner life, Ann Radcliffe's 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' was a hugely influential work of early Gothic horror.

Darkmere (14+) Author: Maslin, Helen A castle. A curse. A dangerous summer. Leo has invited Kate and a few friends to spend the summer at his inheritance, Darkmere Castle: as wild and remote as it is beautiful. Kate thinks it will be the perfect place for her and Leo to get together - but instead, she's drawn into the dark story of a young nineteenth-century bride who haunts the tunnels and towers of the house. And whose curse now hangs over them all.

Three Gothic Novels (14+) Author: Walpole, Horace The Castle of Otranto, published pseudonymously in 1765, is one of the first of the genre and the most truly Gothic of the three. Depicts a tyrannical nobleman whose unholy deeds cause the downfall of his family, despite warnings from doom-laden portents and supernatural phenomena. Vathek (1786), an oriental tale by an eccentric millionaire, exotically combines Gothic romanticism with the vivacity of The Arabian Nights and is a narrative tour de force. A depraved servant of the Devil commits monstrous crimes in his desire to gain eternal powers. The story of Frankenstein (1818) and the monster he created is as spine-chilling today as it ever was; as in all Gothic novels, horror is the keynote. Portrays the calamitous results of a young man's quest to cheat death and meddle with nature itself. The Gothic novel, which flourished from about 1765 until 1825, revels in the horrible and the supernatural, in suspense and exotic settings. This volume, with its erudite introduction by Mario Praz, presents three of the most celebrated Gothic novels.

Jane Eyre Author: Bronte, Charlotte Charlotte Bronte tells the story of orphaned Jane Eyre, who grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, enduring loneliness and cruelty. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane's natural independence and spirit - which prove necessary when she finds employment as a governess to the young ward of Byronic, brooding Mr Rochester. As her feelings for Rochester develop, Jane gradually uncovers Thornfield Hall's terrible secret, forcing her to make a choice. Should she stay with Rochester and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions - even if it means leaving the man she loves? A gothic masterpiece of tempestuous passions and dark secrets, Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' is edited with an introduction and notes by Stevie Davis in 'Penguin Classics'. A novel of intense power and intrigue, 'Jane Eyre' dazzled readers with its passionate depiction of a woman's search for equality and freedom

Women in the Walls, The (14+) Author: Lukavics, Amy Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They're inseparable—a family. When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.

Flood and Fang #1 Author: Sedgwick, Marcus Meet the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. Edgar is alarmed when he sees a nasty looking black tail slinking under the castle walls. But his warnings to the inhabitants of the castle go unheeded: Lord Valevine Otherhand is too busy trying to invent the unthinkable and discover the unknowable; his wife, Minty, is too absorbed in her latest obsession - baking; and ten-year-old Cudweed is running riot with his infernal pet monkey. Only Solstice, the black-haired, poetry-writing Otherhand daughter, seems to pay any attention. As the lower storeys of the castle begin mysteriously to flood, and kitchen maids continue to go missing, the family come ever closer to the owner of the black tail...First in a brand new six book series of tales of mystery (with a touch of goth- froth) for 9 year olds from bestselling author, Marcus Sedgwick. With quirky black and white line illustrations from new talent, Pete Williamson. Dedicated website on Raven Mysteries: www.ravenmysteries.co.uk Three Gothic Novels (14+) Author: Walpole, Horace The Gothic novel, which flourished from about 1765 until 1825, revels in the horrible and the supernatural, in suspense and exotic settings. This volume, with its erudite introduction by Mario Praz, presents three of the most celebrated Gothic 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. Depicts a tyrannical nobleman whose unholy deeds cause the downfall of his family, despite warnings from doom-laden portents and supernatural phenomena. Vathek (1786), an oriental tale by an eccentric millionaire, exotically combines Gothic romanticism with the vivacity of The Arabian Nights and is a narrative tour de force. A depraved servant of the Devil commits monstrous crimes in his desire to gain eternal powers. The story of Frankenstein (1818) and the monster he created is as spine-chilling today as it ever was; as in all Gothic novels, horror is the keynote. Portrays the calamitous results of a young man's quest to cheat death and meddle with nature itself. Bone Magician #2 Author: Higgins, F E The Silver Apple Killer preys on the people of Urbs Umida, a rotten and wretched city. Two things connect the victims they all had a small silver apple in their pocket, and they had all recently visited a notorious inn to see one of two acts: the hideous Gluttonous Beast and the astonishing Bone Magician ...Since his father disappeared under a dark cloud of scandal, Pin Carpue has been alone in the world. His work for the local undertaker keeps him busy, but his life is bleak. Then Pin encounters the Bone Magician, a man who can raise corpses and make the dead speak. As Pin is drawn into an intoxicating world of mystery and intrigue, he becomes suspicious of Juno, the Bone Magician's young assistant. A strange darkness haunts her just as the Silver Apple Killer stalks the streets at night and as Pin pieces together the secrets of Bone Magic, his own life becomes fraught with grave danger...

Hunchback of Notre Dame Author: Hugo, Victor Literature is full of stories that today's children can enjoy when they are made accessible. This retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame combines narrative and illustrations with photographs providing factual content. Information panels add information on the historical dimensions of the story.

Strange Star Author: Carroll, Emma They were coming tonight to tell ghost stories. 'A tale to freeze the blood,' was the only rule. Switzerland, 1816. On a stormy summer night, Lord Byron and his guests are gathered round the fire. Felix, their serving boy, can't wait to hear their creepy tales. Yet real life is about to take a chilling turn - more chilling than any tale. Frantic pounding at the front door reveals a stranger, a girl covered in the most unusual scars. She claims to be looking for her sister, supposedly snatched from England by a woman called Mary Shelley. Someone else has followed her here too, she says. And the girl is terrified. This breath-taking new book from Emma Carroll, the critically- acclaimed author of Frost Hollow Hall, The Girl Who Walked On Air, In Darkling Wood and The Snow Sister, is a deliciously creepy story inspired by the creation of Frankenstein, and is brought to life by a leading talent in children's literature. Mary's Monster Author: Judge, Lita The dark, captivating story of one remarkable young woman. And her monster. Creative genius...? Inventor of science fiction...? Pregnant teenage runaway...? Who was the real Mary Shelley? Publishing to mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, Mary's Monster is the compelling, and beautifully illustrated, story of Mary Shelley - the original rebel girl and an inspiration for everyone from teenage readers to adult. When her fractured bond with her beloved father, and her elopement with the mercurial (and married) poet Percy Bysshe Shelley at the age of 16, led her to Switzerland, few could have imagined the consequence would be such a book. But, in the crucible of societal disapproval and tenuous circumstances, Mary Shelley created Frankenstein, and his monster, forged in the fire of her troubled and tragic life. Part biography, part fantasy and part feminist allegory, Mary's Monster is an engrossing take on one remarkable young woman. And her monster.