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Valancourt
Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and horror novels from the 18th century to the 1980s. Overview Discovering that many works of Gothic fiction from the late 18th and early 19th centuries were unavailable in print, Jenkins and Cagle founded Valancourt in 2005 and began reprinting some of them. Their list includes the " Northanger 'horrid' novels", seven gothic novels lampooned by Jane Austen in ''Northanger Abbey'' (1818) and once thought to be fictional titles of Austen's creation. Eventually the company "expanded into neglected Victorian-era popular fiction, including old penny dreadfuls and sensation novels, as well as a lot of the decadent and ''fin de siècle () is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the ...
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Castle Of Wolfenbach
''The Castle of Wolfenbach'' (1793) is the most famous novel written by the English Gothic novelist Eliza Parsons. First published in two volumes in 1793, it is among the Northanger Horrid Novels, seven "horrid novels" recommended by the character Isabella Thorpe in Jane Austen's novel ''Northanger Abbey'' and an important early work in the genre, predating Ann Radcliffe's ''The Mysteries of Udolpho'' and Matthew Lewis (writer), Monk Lewis's ''The Monk''. Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished ''The Mysteries of Udolpho, Udolpho'', we will read ''The Italian (Radcliffe novel), The Italian'' together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you. Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all? I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocketbook. ''Castle of Wolfenbach'', ''Clermont (novel), Clermont'', ''Mysterious Warnings'', ''Necromancer of the Black Forest'', ''Midnight Bell'', ''Orphan of th ...
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The Midnight Bell
''The Midnight Bell'' is a gothic novel by Francis Lathom. It was first published anonymously in 1798 and has, on occasion, been wrongly attributed to George Walker. It was one of the Northanger Horrid Novels, seven "horrid novels" lampooned by Jane Austen in her novel ''Northanger Abbey''. Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you. Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all? I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocketbook. ''Castle of Wolfenbach'', ''Clermont (novel), Clermont'', ''Mysterious Warnings'', ''Necromancer of the Black Forest'', ''Midnight Bell'', ''Orphan of the Rhine'', and ''Horrid Mysteries''. Those will last us some time. Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid? —''Northanger Abbey'', ch. 6 Subtitled "A German Story, Founded On Incidents in Real ...
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Eliza Parsons
Eliza Parsons (née Phelp) (1739 – 5 February 1811) was an English Gothic novelist, best known for ''The Castle of Wolfenbach'' (1793) and '' The Mysterious Warning'' (1796). These are two of the seven Gothic titles recommended as reading by a character in Jane Austen's novel ''Northanger Abbey''. Life The life of Eliza Parsons has been subject to much speculation, but most researchers agree she was born in 1739. Parsons's baptismal certificate is dated 4 April 1739. Eliza was born in Plymouth, Devon, as the only daughter of John Phelp, a wine merchant, and his wife Roberta Phelp. She spent her childhood in a prosperous household and became well educated for a young woman in the 18th century. At about 21 years old, Eliza married a turpentine distiller, James Parsons, from the nearby town of Stonehouse, on 24 March 1760. Together they had three sons and five daughters. About 1778–1779, the family moved to a suburb in London, when Parsons's turpentine business saw a decline a ...
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Gay Literature
Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the gay community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior. Overview and history Because the social acceptance of homosexuality has varied in many world cultures throughout history, LGBT literature has covered a vast array of themes and concepts. LGBT individuals have often turned to literature as a source of validation, understanding, and beautification of same-sex attraction. In contexts where homosexuality has been perceived negatively, LGBT literature may also document the psychological stresses and alienation suffered by those experiencing prejudice, legal discrimination, AIDS, self-loathing, bullying, violence, religious condemnation, denial, suicide, persecution, and other such obstacles. Themes of love between individuals of the same gender are found in a variety of ancient texts throughout the world. The ancient Greeks, in particular, explored the the ...
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The Necromancer; Or, The Tale Of The Black Forest
''The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest'' is a Gothic novel written by Karl Friedrich Kahlert under the alias Lawrence Flammenberg and localized by Peter Teuthold that was first published in 1794. It is one of the Northanger Horrid Novels, seven 'horrid novels' lampooned by Jane Austen in ''Northanger Abbey''. It was once thought not to exist except in the text of ''Northanger Abbey''. The novel consists of a series of lurid tales of hauntings, violence, killings and the supernatural featuring the adventures of Hermann and Helfried and the mysterious wizard Volkert the Necromancer, who has seemingly come back from the dead, set in the Black Forest in Germany. It has recently been republished in a modern edition by Valancourt Books which confirms the identity of the book's German author. Originally said to have been "Translated from the German of Lawrence Flammenberg by Peter Teuthold," a number of its readers, including scholarly readers, assumed this to be a way of ...
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Lawrence Flammenberg
Karl Friedrich Kahlert (25 September 1765 – 8 September 1813) also known by the pen names Lawrence Flammenberg or Lorenz Flammenberg and Bernhard Stein was a German author of gothic fiction. He is best known for ''The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest'', an English translation by Peter Teuthold of his ''Der Geisterbanner: Eine Wundergeschichte aus mündlichen und schriftlichen Traditionen'', which is one of the seven 'horrid novels' referenced by Jane Austen in '' Northanger Abbey''. Through this work, he was a major influence on gothic literature in England, including Matthew Lewis's '' The Monk''. Biography Kahlert was born on 25 September 1765 in Breslau, Prussia (modern day Wrocław, Poland) and died on 8 September 1813 in Glogau, Prussia (modern day Głogów, Poland). Influence Kahlert authored various stories and plays in German, none of which appear to have been translated into English with the exception of ''Der Geisterbanner'', published in 1794. The t ...
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Clermont (novel)
''Clermont'', Regina Maria Roche's 1798 novel, "...is arguably the definitive text of the Gothic novel craze during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries". It was first published by Minerva Press. Plot ''Clermont'' relates the story of the beautiful Madeline, who lives in seclusion with her eponymous father until they are visited by a mysterious Countess from Clermont's past. Madeline travels to complete her education, accompanied by the Countess. A series of assaults by shadowy foes cannot dissuade Madeline from unraveling the mystery of her father's past and pursuing her paramour, De Sevignie. Madeline uncovers the secret of her own noble origins and her virtue proves its strength through a series of trials and tribulations. Literary allusions The novel was one of the seven "horrid novels" recommended by the character Isabella Thorpe in Jane Austen's novel ''Northanger Abbey'': Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will r ...
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Francis Lathom
Francis Lathom (14 July 1774 – 19 May 1832) was a British gothic novelist and playwright. Biography Francis Lathom was born on 14 July 1774, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where his father, Henry, conducted business for the East India Company and returning to England around 1777, settling near Norwich. He joined the Norwich Stock Company, a stock theatre company, in 1791 and began his literary career. Lathom was a precocious writer, beginning to write plays before he had turned eighteen. His first play, ''All in a Bustle'', was produced on the Norwich stage at the Theatre Royal Norwich in 1795; he would go on to write six other plays, including ''The Dash of the Day'' (1800), which went into three Norwich editions as well as a reprint published in Dublin. Lathom's first novel, ''The Castle of Ollada'' (1795) was published in two volumes, anonymously, by William Lane's Minerva Press. This work, like most of Lathom's later Gothic novels, owed much to the earlier works of such wr ...
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Northanger 'horrid' Novels
''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's ''The Female Quixote'' (1752). ''Northanger Abbey'' was completed in 1803, the first of Austen's novels completed in full, but was published posthumously in 1817 with ''Persuasion''. The story concerns Catherine Morland, the naïve young protagonist, and her journey to a better understanding of herself and of the world around her. How Catherine views the world has been distorted by her fondness for Gothic novels and an active imagination. Plot summary Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is one of ten children of a country clergyman. Although a tomboy in her childhood, by the age of 17 she is "in training for a heroine" and is fond of reading Gothic novels, "provided they were all story and no reflection". Catherine is invited by the Allens (her wealthier neighbours in Fullerton) to accompany them to visit the city of Bath a ...
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Northanger Abbey
''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ... novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's ''The Female Quixote'' (1752). ''Northanger Abbey'' was completed in 1803, the first of Austen's novels completed in full, but was published posthumously in 1817 with ''Persuasion (novel), Persuasion''. The story concerns Catherine Morland, the naïve young protagonist, and her journey to a better understanding of herself and of the world around her. How Catherine views the world has been distorted by her fondness for Gothic novels and an active imagination. Plot summary Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is one of ten children of a country clergyman. Although a tomboy in he ...
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The Monk
''The Monk: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. A quickly written book from early in Lewis's career (in one letter he claimed to have written it in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he had at least started it, or something similar, a couple of years earlier), it was published before he turned twenty. It is a prime example of the male Gothic that specialises in the aspect of horror. Its convoluted and scandalous plot has made it one of the most important Gothic novels of its time, often imitated and adapted for the stage and the screen. Characters * Agnes is Don Lorenzo's younger sister and Don Raymond's lover. Her mother fell ill while pregnant with Agnes and vowed to send Agnes to the convent if she delivered her safely. She is a virtuous young lady who intends to marry Don Raymond but her parents want her to become a nun, so she decides to run away with him. Their plans are foiled and, thinking Don Raymond has abandoned h ...
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Gay Men's Press
Gay Men's Press was a publisher of books based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1979, the imprint was run until 2000 by its founders, then until 2006 by Millivres Prowler. Overview Launched in 1979 by Aubrey Walter, David Fernbach, and Richard Dipple, GMP, as it became known, was a pioneer publisher for the gay community, releasing at least 300 titles. The book business had been unwelcoming to LGBT writers, publishing only those works of a homosexual nature deemed suitable for mainstream readers. Authors such as David Rees, Tom Wakefield, and Mike Seabrook could now reach an audience with fiction about contemporary gay life. Gay Men's Press also published a range of non-fiction books, including acclaimed titles such as ''Homosexuality in Renaissance England'' by Alan Bray and '' Mother Clap's Molly House'' by Rictor Norton, as well as meeting the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s with a number of self-help books. Its Gay Modern Classics series provided a format for reissuing many ...
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