Horace Walpole: The Castle of Otranto

 When I pulled this book from my sister's shelf to pass the time while visiting, I did so based on two things: it's relative brevity, and the vague notion that I had heard the author's name in some literary context.  I realized shortly that the Walpole of whom I was thinking was in fact Hugh Walpole, a descendant of Horace's and an interesting literary figure worth considering in his own right.  As it happens, Horace's main claim to fame is that this book is considered the first Gothic novel, though from my perspective it has more in common with such early legends as the Mabinogion than the works of Poe.  It does, I suppose, meet the brief of a Gothic novel: atmospheric, suspenseful, filled with cursed romances, etc.. I would not say, however, that these were pronounced or distinguishing.  Rather, it was characterized by the machinations of mythical beings, and interjected with comedic dialogue, quite uncharacteristic of Gothic literature in my mind.  Walpole shines, in fact, when two characters are trying to have a conversation, and cannot seem to follow the thread--almost Abbot and Costellian in disjointed confusion.  Who am I to argue with the scholarly consensus, though?  Gothic it is, and I must simply have failed to notice the farcical and mythical qualities in Poe, Shelley, Stoker, et al.