Gothic Fiction
Classic examples of the Gothic tradition featuring haunted houses, supernatural appearances, and psychological suspense characteristic of the genre.
Summaries
Wuthering Heights
A gothic tale of passion, obsession, and vengeance spanning two generations at isolated Yorkshire farmhouses, as the foundling Heathcliff's all-consuming love for Catherine Earnshaw destroys both their families, echoes through their children's lives, and only finds resolution through the reconciliation of Catherine's daughter and Hareton Earnshaw.
Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
Jane Eyre chronicles the emotional and moral journey of an orphaned governess who endures hardship and oppression at Gateshead Hall and Lowood school before finding employment at Thornfield, where she falls in love with the brooding Mr. Rochester only to discover his devastating secret and face the impossible choice between her heart and her principles.
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Ann Radcliffe's "The Mysteries of Udolpho" (1794) is a foundational English Gothic novel whose influence shaped 19th-century Romantic and horror literature.
The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
A respected London physician's experiment to separate his dual nature creates the monstrous Edward Hyde, leading to violence and investigation before the devastating truth of their shared identity is revealed.
The Two Magics: The Turn of the Screw, Covering End
This collection pairs Henry James's ambiguous ghost story "The Turn of the Screw," in which a governess at a country estate perceives spectral threats to her charges, with the lighter social comedy "Covering End," in which a penniless heir must choose between his political principles and his ancestral home, with a wealthy American woman's intervention determining the outcome of both.