Anyone remember the old Gothics?

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DeleyanLee

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Y'know the ones, with covers of the heroine walking around in her flowing nightgown amidst dark and forboding castles with only a candlestick?

I've got a hankering to read some again, but I only have one that survived the Great Housefire of 1996 (The Artist's Daughter if you're curious). I've been trying to remember other titles or authors for the last couple of days, but nothing's coming to mind. (And hunting for old books is half the fun, don't you agree?)

Can anyone think of any others? I remember reading gazillions of them back in the 70's and 80's, but details aren't there.

Thanks for any help!
 

Liralen

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Oh, wow -- you reminded me! I never really read any of those (outside some historical fiction/romance), but I LOVED Daphne DuMaurier. I need to find my old copy of Frenchman's Creek :)
 

Filigree

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Any of Mary Stewart's old gothics will do the trick for me. They were usually sweet romances/thrillers, and her MCs had a little more depth to them than the standard gothic models. She also wrote one of my favorite Arthurian series.
 

Shakesbear

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Victoria Holt - Legend of the Seventh Virgin - I read that when it was serialised in a woman's magazine.

I was thinking of Walpole's Castle of Otranto, Shellys Frankenstein, the Mysteries of Udolpho, and Edgar Allen Poe.
 

firedrake

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My favourite was Madeline Brent:

Tregaron's Daughter
Stranger at Wildings

Also Constance Heaven:
Night of the Wolf
The Place of Stones
Loads and loads more.

Catherine Gaskin:
Falcon for a Queen

Carola Salisbury:
Winter Bride
Dark Inheritance

Oh I could go on and on and on. Read so many of those in my teenage years.

Fabulous links, Ben! Brought some memories back.
 

Liralen

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Didn't find Frenchman's Creek, but I did stumble across Morgan Llewellyn's Grania and The Horse Goddess :D

Anne Rice's The Mummy (Ramses the Damned) is a great read in that vein.
 

DeleyanLee

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Thanks, guys! I've got plenty to go hunting for now. :DI knew this was the place to ask.
 

KristiJ

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so funny you should ask this now...I'm working on something I consider Gothic. It's also a little bit like Kate Morton's work and Sarah Waters. I love, love, love The Mistress of Mellyn. I'm reading Dragonwyck by anya Seton right now. And now I'm off to put some of the suggestions above on my TBR list!
 

SelmaW

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Lol I just blogged about this! I LOVE gothics. Victoria Holt/Philippa Carr/all of the pen names is my favorite (I see I'm in good company), but you really can't go wrong with Ann Radcliffe either.
 

EChavez

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I love gothics! I wish books like this were still popular. Phyllis Whitney wrote some great ones, and of course Victoria Holt. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier is probably my all time favorite.
 

gingerwoman

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Is the original Virgina Andrews (the one who got replaced with the crummy ghost writer and renamed VC Andrews) gothic? I mean are those gothics?
 

EChavez

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I'm not familiar with Virginia Andrews but they could be. From what I understand of the term "gothic", it can be a story with implied supernatural elements or even supernatural creatures. There is usually a mysterious house and dark and sinister happenings occur there.

There is a wide spectrum when it come to categorizing something as gothic. I would say the ones written in the 60's and 70's ones are on the light end of it. The happenings in them sometimes seem to be caused by supernatural forces, but are usually revealed to be caused by people in the end. I personally prefer this kind of gothic to the vampire, werewolf centered stuff that is popular today, but I think I'm in the minority.
 

Liralen

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so funny you should ask this now...I'm working on something I consider Gothic. It's also a little bit like Kate Morton's work and Sarah Waters. I love, love, love The Mistress of Mellyn. I'm reading Dragonwyck by anya Seton right now. And now I'm off to put some of the suggestions above on my TBR list!

I haven't read Dragonwyck in years! I need to dredge it out.
 

Nawlins

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I love Gothic romances! Is anyone publishing them now? I'd love to read some new ones.
 

Shamrockgreen

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don't forget Marilyn Ross
 

Batspan

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I love gothics! I wish books like this were still popular. Phyllis Whitney wrote some great ones, and of course Victoria Holt. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier is probably my all time favorite.

My mom had lots of those so I grew up on them. Then discovered Barbara Michaels as an adult, and Gaywick (Vincent Virga, I think) I'm still thinking about writing one.
 
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