The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
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The Castle of Otranto: Frame Story 1 key example

Key Examples in The Castle of Otranto

The First Edition Preface
Explanation and Analysis—Many Authors?:

Walpole uses an unusual format for the frame story in The Castle of Otranto, constructing it in a way that makes its origins seem shrouded in myth—much like the medieval tales it echoes. Although he wrote the book himself, Walpole claims (in the First Edition Preface) that it was:

found in the library of an ancient Catholic family of the North of England. It was printed at Naples, in the black letter in the year 1529 [...] If the story was written near the time it was supposed to have happened, it must have been between 1095, the era of the first crusade, and 1243, the date of the last, or not long afterwards.