GOTHIC FICTION:
Rare Printed Works from the Sadleir-Black Collection of Gothic Fiction at the Alderman Library, University of Virginia

Part 1: Matthew Lewis and Gothic Horror - Beckford to Lewis
Part 2: Matthew Lewis and Gothic Horror - MacKenzie to Zschokke
Part 3: Gothic Terror: Radcliffe and her Imitators - Boaden to Meeke
Part 4: Gothic Terror: Radcliffe and her Imitators - Pickard to Wilkinson
Part 5: Domestic and Sentimental Gothic - Bennett to Lamb
Part 6: Domestic and Sentimental Gothic - Lathom to Warner

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

Gothic Fiction has exerted a powerful influence over popular culture. From Walpole’s Prince Manfred to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and from Ann Radcliffe to Anne Rice, tales of terror have been eagerly embraced by the public. But while such tales have been popular, they have also been marginalised by critics. Current challenges to the hierarchies of literary value suggest that Gothic Fiction deserves a more central position.

To fuel this debate and to serve the increasing number of Gothic courses now springing up we offer access to one of the most important libraries of Gothic Literature in the world - the Sadleir-Black Collection of Gothic Fiction at the University of Virginia.

Peter Otto describes the origins of this collection in the essay which follows. It is fitting that it should involve a quest for the unknown (Sadleir’s search for the Northanger novels) driven by mania.

The aim of this microfilm project is to make available a broad range of Gothic Fiction, placing a special emphasis on material that is extremely rare or difficult to consult. To bring this within the compass of most libraries, this has been divided into a number of thematic groupings:

Gothic Horror: Lewis and his followers Parts 1-2
Gothic Terror: Radcliffe and her imitators Parts 3-4
Domestic and Sentimental Gothic Parts 5-6
Gothic History, Satire and Chap-books Parts 7-8

Each part comprises c20-50 titles including key canonical works in first and variant editions as well as many lesser known works.

This guide describes the first six parts of this collection. Taken together these six parts offer 171 individual works in a total of 504 volumes. This reveals the multi-volume nature of the genre with many triple- and quadruple-decker novels (and some reaching to five or six volumes). Some 75 authors are represented from Beckford to Zschokke, as well as 16 anonymous works. Nearly all of the works are presented in first editions, offering scholars the opportunity to see how these works were originally presented to their readership. In the case of The Monk, variant editions are provided so that scholars can see how this was revised. Many of the volumes bear marks of ownership ranging from the bookplates of noble families to details concerning the circulating library of which they were a part. All original advertising matter (usually at the end of each volume) has been included. In the case of The Mystery of the Black Tower (1796) by John Palmer, junior, there is also a list of subscribers featuring inter alia the names of John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons.

Gothic novels make up the majority of the first six parts. In addition to such well-known works as The Castle of Otranto, An Arabian Tale [Vathek], The Mysteries of Udolpho, The Italian, and Frankenstein there is a host of works by lesser known authors. Scholars will now be able to look at early Gothic writings by Susannah Gunning, M Harley, Charlotte Smith, John Moore, Clara Reeve and others, and they will be able to read through three or more works by authors such as T J Horsley Curties, Catherine Cuthbertson, Charlotte Dacre, Isabella (Kelly) Hedgeland, Elizabeth Helme, Francis Lathom, Charles Maturin, Mary Meeke, Eliza Parsons, Regina Maria Roche, Louisa Stanhope, George Walker and Mrs R P M Yorke.

Gothic drama is also well represented by a number of titles ranging from James Boaden’s Fontainville Forest, and Matthew Lewis’ The Wood Daemon, to Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer.

The entire Gothic armoury is deployed in these tales. There are ruined abbeys, tall towers, haunted castles, impenetrable forests and crepuscular landscapes. There are orphans, lone women, mysterious husbands, widows and heirs. There are secret brotherhoods, orders of monks, banditti and nuns. And of course there are witches, ghosts, vampires, man-made monsters and wild creatures.

With the provision of such a wide range of novels and plays it will be possible to see how these elements are put to use by different writers. Scholars will be able to examine the evolution of the genre and to assess the relative weight given to landscape, the sublime, character formation, psychological attitudes, melodrama and irony within these works. They will also be able to explore the relationship of Gothic Fiction to Romanticism, and to the great political and economic upheaval of the period in which it was produced.

Gothic Fiction is also a rich domain for Gender Studies. Why were so many of the leading authors of the genre and their readership women? What do the depictions of assaults, imprisonment, and tyrannical fathers tell us about morality and social structure?

This guide is made up of six distinct elements:

• The introductory essay by Peter Otto describes the nature of the collection and elaborates on the themes that are explored in this project.
• Alison Milbank’s essay looks at three specific sub-genres (satires, histories and chap-books) which will form the basis of Parts 7 and 8.
• The Contents of Reels provide a complete list of titles, with shelfmark, author, date and place of publication.
• The Biographies of Gothic Novelists by Marie Mulvey-Roberts introduces the writers featured in this project.
• The Gothic Chronology provides an overall context.
• The Listings by Author and Title serve as indices to Parts 1-6.

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