Wednesday, 21 February 2018

My Twenty-one Best Gothic Novels

My Twenty-one Best Gothic Novels



The Gothic novel has a key place in the history of English literature from the mid 18th century until today. below is a list of my twenty-one most desirable examples of Gothic Literature from a book collector’s perspective. You will be able to see many of these books in the Dark Imaginings exhibition at the University of Melbourne, which runs from 1st March 2018 until 30 July 2018. There will also be other Gothic Novel events in Melbourne Rare Book Week 2018.

In this article, I will briefly discuss elements of the publication history of each of the twenty-one works that I have chosen. I will also nominate which edition I would select as the most desirable to have in my Gothic Library. Although to most book collectors, the first edition of any book is often the most desirable, that is not necessarily the case, and I will try to explain here why I think each “most desirable” edition that I have nominated has its special appeal. The choice is of course entirely personal.


The books are presented here in order of first publication, and I have not attempted to put them in any order which reflects literary merit or relative desirability as a collectible book. I do have copies of all the books nominated here in my personal collection, although some of the most desirable editions remain on my “wants” list. One or two of the most desirable editions I expect never to find! Click on a link to find out more about each book.





















That completes my list of 21 collectible Gothic novels. I wish you luck in trying to find them all.

Chris Browne February 2018

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