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I enjoy reading Gothics, especially the older ones. Unfortunately, I have picked up too many books recently that really cannot be described as anything better than mediocre. Many of these were written in the 1950s-1970s, when there seemed to be a boom in Gothic stories (loosely termed, since some were more romantic suspense or mysteries). Perhaps in the enormous output editors were less picky about what they were publishing. It's a shame to be inundated with such mediocrity. Furthermore, it seems embarassing to read all the wonderful critical reviews or bylines some of them get. How do you sort through all that jumble and find a really good Gothic?
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Paige, that's just why I wanted to do the list on the other thread (thanks for your contribution there). There was a lot of junk printed up under the Gothic boom. I think the only way to find the good stuff is to stick with the more well-known authors. Of course, Marilyn Ross (aka Dan Ross, Clarissa Ross) was apparently a pretty bad hack who sold a lot of books. So yes--it's tough to find the good stuff.
I have a weird little book (I think it must have been someone's thesis). She details all the Gothics from that time (late 1970's) and it's a wealth of information about the authors and their books. However, she reviews many books and gives them letter grades--and her reviews are very odd, to say the least. She finds Mary Stewart overwritten and overrated--the same goes for Daphne Du Maurier. So it's sort of hard to take her opinion seriously.
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I wonder if you have the same book I have. It's called "Gothic Novels of the Twenthieth Century" by Elsa J. Radcliffe (I wonder if she's any relation to the original Mrs. Radcliffe). Some of her reviews are, like you said, odd, but others are in agreement with my opinions.
I've never read any Marilyn Ross but I saw that they made a TV series called Dark Shadows based on one of his books, and the cover (showing the TV adaptation) looked so ridiculous I was not tempted to even begin reading it. Although you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I know the above Mrs. Radcliffe did not approve much of Marilyn Ross.
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In addition, Mrs. Radcliffe did not like Jill Tattersall but I enjoyed her books as well. I cannot recall all the titles, but I'll add one on to the Gothic list.
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That's the one, paigenumber! I didn't know anyone else had ever heard of that book. I found it in an obscure little bookshop several years ago.
Elsa Radcliffe barely seemed to like anything. If you notice, she gives out C's, D's and F's a little too readily. Phyllis Whitney, for instance, may not be Charlotte Bronte, but she deserves a little respect, same for Victoria Holt. I'm all for looking at books with a critical eye, but I think her idea of "Gothic" is so specific and limited that she couldn't really enjoy anything that didn't meet her exact specifications.
I guess what I find frustrating about the book is that there are so few books that she seems to recommend. I mean--why did she bother writing a book on the genre when she only seemed satisfied by about 10 books?
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I don't think there are many copies of Elsa Radcliffe's book around. Mine is an ex-library copy that was picked up at a library book sale. Unfortunately, it is also one of the very few reference books we have on the subject. Perhaps we can use that as a starting point and build from there. Who knows? Maybe someone out there will use this website as a reference for a future book on the subject. I'd like to be able to contribute to the general knowledge.
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This is very interesting. It seems as if Ms Radcliffe's book went the way of the books she critiqued. But I like your idea, paigenumber, that this forum can be used as a starting point or a means to create a contemporary basis of knowledge.
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paigenumber Wrote:I've never read any Marilyn Ross but I saw that they made a TV series called Dark Shadows based on one of his books, and the cover (showing the TV adaptation) looked so ridiculous I was not tempted to even begin reading it.
Actually it was the other way around. Dark Shadows was an American TV series 1966-1971. It was a daily serial which began as a straight gothic suspense, i.e. nothing overtly supernatural. By the end of the first year it had turned into a full blown supernatural/horror/occult gothic. By the end of it's five year run it had cribbed plot lines from Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Turn of the Screw, the Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as long-term time travel episodes, once to 1795, and later spent over a year of episodes in 1897. The original series suffers from poor dialogue, shoddy acting, malfunctioning special effects...all adding up to what we in the U.S. call "cheesy". Ridiculous as it seems now (the entire run of 1225 episodes is available on US DVD) the show was wildly popular, a forerunner of the modern vampire-romance motif (Anne Rice, Buffy, Twilight, etc), and certainly was in part responsible for the paperback gothic romance boom of that era.
The Marilyn Ross paperbacks were based (loosely) on the TV series. They remind me more of Scooby Doo episodes where the phantom haunting the west wing always turned out to be a disgruntled guest character in a mask. They are, as you might suspect, bottom of the barrel.
The show was revived for a half season in 1991 (also available on US DVD) and is a much more lushly romantic take on the story.
Johnny Depp purchased the rights to film a cinema version of Dark Shadows in 2007. There are rumours all over the Dark Shadows fansites, but to date a director has not been set.
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Monique Devereaux Wrote:paigenumber Wrote:I've never read any Marilyn Ross but I saw that they made a TV series called Dark Shadows based on one of his books, and the cover (showing the TV adaptation) looked so ridiculous I was not tempted to even begin reading it. <snip>
The Marilyn Ross paperbacks were based (loosely) on the TV series. They remind me more of Scooby Doo episodes where the phantom haunting the west wing always turned out to be a disgruntled guest character in a mask. They are, as you might suspect, bottom of the barrel.
<snip>
Johnny Depp purchased the rights to film a cinema version of Dark Shadows in 2007. There are rumours all over the Dark Shadows fansites, but to date a director has not been set.
My mother loved Dark Shadows and I remember trying to watch a few episodes with her. They scared me because they had vampires and I thought it funny that a show with vampires would run during the day! LOL
Funny about Marilyn Ross reminding you of Scooby Doo. I might have to read one just for laughs. As a kid, I loved Scooby Doo (still do) but was always angry that I could never solve the mystery. As an adult, you come to find that they're not always fair with their clues, but the "crime" is easy to solve.
I'll be interested to see if Depp does anything with the "Dark Shadows" movie rights.
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I always had the opposite problem, I could always solve it, usually by looking at the person who was least likely. Why? Hidden motives.
The trouble with mysteries like that, though, is you feel cheated by the red herrings.
It is a bit like Cold Case on TV--they start to follow the trail and it is always the last person they interview who has done it, with everyone who looks like the mosl likely suspect pointing to the next person as having a hidden motive no one else but that person had a clue about.
I sort of gave up on reading mysteries because I either knew who had done it within the first 10 pages, or, I kept reading, and the person who did it was so unfeasible, the whole book was just a pointless waste of time.
I also dislike most romantic suspense because they are neither fish nor fowl--not much mystery, and little credible romance.
As for dismissing Du Maurier, a lot of people dismiss 'romance' and yet it is over 50% of all novels sold in this country, and over 17% of men read it because they are looking for interesting characters.
She was great at creating atmosphere, which I think is one of the most important things in any novel, not just Gothic Romance-to make the reader feel like they are really THERE in the world of the book.
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