Frontispiece Gothica

Gothic novels were the horror movies of the long eighteenth century.  They were craze comparable to that of Twilight series; there were many fans and just as many people turning their nose up at the genre.  Audiences loved the adrenaline rush of fear and forbidden romance, and to capture more bookshop browsers it was good to have a good frontispiece to pique the potential reader's curiosity.  What better way to get in the Halloween spirit than explore some gothic novel frontispieces:


Vathek by William Thomas Beckford

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Children of the Abbey by Regina Maria Roche

Tales of Terror by Matthew Gregory Lewis

The Castle Spectre by Matthew G Lewis

Caleb Williams by William Godwin

Happy Halloween!