Did anyone else find the "Preface To The First Edition" a bit strange? If you haven't read it, it is essentially Horace Walpole saying that this story was found, and that he translated it rather than wrote it. In fact, the original title was:
THE
CASTLE of OTRANTO, A STORY.
Translated
by WILLIAM MARSHAL, Gent. From the Original ITALIAN of ONUPHRIO MURALTO, CANON
of the Church of St. NICHOLAS at OTRANTO.*
This
meant that, originally, he didn’t even claim authorship for the work. Normally,
pseudonyms and other deceptions were used when the author was writing something
particularly controversial, or if said author was a
controversial figure him or herself. However, there doesn’t really seem to be anything that
controversial in the book, and the author was male and of the upper classes, so
writing was completely acceptable for him. Any thoughts on this?
* Found at "http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/ecco/004864584.0001.000/1:1?rgn=div1;view=fulltext"
By claiming the original manuscript was rediscovered after hundreds of years and translated Walpole has ready made himself a legendary story. The fabricated history behind the story further adds feelings of intrigue and mystery to an already mysterious, mystical, and supernatural tale. When the book was first published, given the "history" behind it, some people might have believed the story to be true. All in all I think Walpole made this decision to enhance the mystery behind the story and increase buzz.
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