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Novels
Dec 19, 2007 21:30:38 GMT -5
Post by cosmoblue on Dec 19, 2007 21:30:38 GMT -5
I don't know if these fit under Regency Romances or not, but who reads gothic novels? I was going to read the mysteries of Udolpho, but I am a bit of a chicken and I am afraid to read it. I am also curious to read the monk. I know that they are supposed to be quite thrilling, but are they scary. I have an over active imagination. I do not watch horror films and even less likely to read a scary book as that requires my imagination to work and I am always finding difficulty in getting it to stop.
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Novels
Jan 16, 2008 11:55:37 GMT -5
Post by Tricia on Jan 16, 2008 11:55:37 GMT -5
I actually have both of those books in my TBR pile. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to them yet. I would like to know if they're any good. Same with The Italian and Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe.
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ladymelissa
Shopkeeper
Caught somewhere between sense and sensibility
Posts: 31
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Novels
Jan 27, 2008 17:15:26 GMT -5
Post by ladymelissa on Jan 27, 2008 17:15:26 GMT -5
Hey Cosmo -
I loved Mysteries of U!! It is long, but definitely worth it. It needs to be taken for its worth though. I know several people who don't like it because they felt it was too absurd. But I feel readers just need to get into the same absurd mind-frame. It is over-dramatic melodrama that is spoken with the utmost seriousness. In my opinion it is wonderful!
I started the Monk but never finished it. I missed Ann Radcliffe's beautiful descriptions of nature. The Monk lacked this. And for me, this is just too crucial of a component of a Gothic novel. I guess I'm more the fan of the Gothic romance genre than just Gothic.
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ladymelissa
Shopkeeper
Caught somewhere between sense and sensibility
Posts: 31
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Novels
Jan 27, 2008 17:19:09 GMT -5
Post by ladymelissa on Jan 27, 2008 17:19:09 GMT -5
Hi Cosmo,
I forgot to answer your question.
Mysteries of U is not scary at all. If anything it is comical (w/o the author intending such). I didn't finish The Monk. But of what I read, it is a lot more darker but it nothing like horror of today.
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maudelynn
Clergy
~ I may not always make good sense but I ALWAYS make good tea!~
Posts: 193
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Novels
Feb 22, 2008 11:54:40 GMT -5
Post by maudelynn on Feb 22, 2008 11:54:40 GMT -5
Hey Cosmo - I loved Mysteries of U!! It is long, but definitely worth it. It needs to be taken for its worth though. I know several people who don't like it because they felt it was too absurd. But I feel readers just need to get into the same absurd mind-frame. It is over-dramatic melodrama that is spoken with the utmost seriousness. In my opinion it is wonderful! I started the Monk but never finished it. I missed Ann Radcliffe's beautiful descriptions of nature. The Monk lacked this. And for me, this is just too crucial of a component of a Gothic novel. I guess I'm more the fan of the Gothic romance genre than just Gothic. I read it when I was 13 and just loved it to bits! It was exactly as over the top as my wee brain was at the time! I never read the Monk, but now that I am much older perhaps I will. I love scary books, but not gory.
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savivi
Clergy
A hopeless romantic for non-existent men.
Posts: 100
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Novels
Feb 29, 2008 11:21:36 GMT -5
Post by savivi on Feb 29, 2008 11:21:36 GMT -5
Mysteries of Udolpho is great! Though it IS absurd at times (I mentioned in another thread about fainting, banditti, and lute playing). However, the mystery really got me at the end -- I never saw it coming, and a lot of times for how predictable the book was, she pulls a fast one and you don't expect a lot of the developments.
The descriptions of the scenery is what really sold me. I was sucked in, and could see the images so clearly it was like really being there, and found myself reading at night just get another view of France or Venice.
The poetry, on the other hand, was the hard part for me.
As for being scary -- No, not really! Though I found myself hyping it up for the fun of it. There are some images she eludes to that could be so terrifying when you think about it -- her whole thing is about psyching yourself up (...or is it?). And for that, it's wonderful.
I don't want to give anything away, but the idea of having two doors in your bedroom, one locked (or unlocked and won't close) from the outside that leads down a mysterious staircase, scared the living daylights out of me.
The only major issue I had with Mysteries of U was that to me, it was very anti-climactic.
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