Horace Walpole

The Profile

Horace Walpole (1717–1797) was an English writer and man of letters, author of The Castle of Otranto (1764), often cited as the first Gothic novel; he also published plays and an extensive correspondence.

Born 1717, died 1797. Son of Sir Robert Walpole. Author of The Castle of Otranto (1764). Credited with founding aspects of Gothic fiction and known for his letters and for building Strawberry Hill House (Gothic revival).

The available review discusses The Castle of Otranto as an early Gothic work while arguing many of its elements were preexisting. It highlights Shakespearean influence, the play-like/dialogic structure, supernatural elements framed as divine, and the emergence of melancholic characterization exemplified by Theodore. The reviewer rates the work moderately and notes Walpole's influence on later Gothic and Romantic writers.