In Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland gets into trouble when she reads too many "trashy novels". Of course I had to know what was considered a "trashy novel" back in 1803..... plus the novel is mentioned enough that it almost seems like a minor character.
So, I'm on page 230 and Emily has finally arrived at the Castle Udolpho. Oooohhhh....so creepy*. The first 1/3 of the book set up her life with her father, how she met her true love Valancourt and how she ended up separated from both of them and in her wretched circumstances.Five pages after she arrived at the castle, she discovered a mysterious painting, found a secret staircase and learned of the ghosts that are hanging out in the castle. Sweet. The book reads just like I expected a really old gothic novel would - super dramatic and way more descriptive than any kind of trashy novel written these days.**
So, yesterday I met up with as good friend of mine - J. He is absolutely hilarious and often makes me crack up unexpectedly. So I told him about Udolpho and his immediate comeback?
"Oooh! Like Scooby Doo?"
Great, now I'll be expecting Shaggy to come around the corner any minute and discover that the evil Montoni has a fake beard and is really Emily's long-lost cousin out for revenge.*Claire - if you survive reading Dracula, you might want to put this one on your list of creepy reads.
**My only, complaint is, the amount of punctuation!!! Damn, Ann needed, to learn to edit. (Then again it almost adds to the dramatic effect of the book. It's like William Shatner is reading it to me.)
2 comments:
I have taken a short hiatus from Dracula, but and definitely putting this one on my list. I'll be sure to think of Scooby-Doo when I read!
I am going to put both of these on my list! Northanger Abbey was a question on Jeopardy just yesterday. I will take this as a sign.
Nayway, who can't remember her password.
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