Teaser Tuesday - The Castle of Wolfenbach by Eliza Parsons

The Castle of Wolfenback is one of the seven "horrid novels" named in Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey," "The Castle of Wolfenbach" is perhaps the most important of the early Gothic novels, predating both "The Mysteries of Udolpho" and "The Monk."

I'm on page 5 of 224 of The Castle of Wolfenbach. The reason I'm reading it is because I'm writing a series set in 1793, and I wanted one of the characters to buy a book for his sweetheart. I wanted Persuasion by Austen, but that wasn't published until 1818. While doing research I found this book, and decided to see if it would work as a romantic gift. Considering the theme of the book, I'm not so sure. On the other hand, my female character is a determined young woman, and might just love it. There wasn't anything like this available in Norwegian or Danish at the time, so it would have been very exotic and perhaps even sensational.

About the book: Matilda Weimar flees her lecherous and incestuous uncle and seeks refuge in the ancient Castle of Wolfenbach. Among the castle's abandoned chambers, Matilda will discover the horrifying mystery of the missing Countess of Wolfenbach. But when her uncle tracks her down, can she escape his despicable intentions?

My teaser: "... nobody will sleep in the rooms upstairs; the gentlefolks who were in it last could not rest, such strange noises, and groans, and screams, and such like terrible things were heard; then at t'other end of the house the rooms are never opened; they say bloody work has been carried on there."

Sounds wonderfully horrid, doesn't it?

More teasers to be found here:  Should be reading