Bungay Castle: A Novel by Elizabeth Bonhôte

Description

First published in 1796, Bungay Castle is a gothic novel by Elizabeth Bonhôte. The novel was inspired by the old, ruined castle that her husband bought in 1791 – though she did not spend too much time on the property, the castle and the surrounding area provided the perfect idea for the backdrop of a horror story.

The novel has all the features that make a gothic novel intriguing: the castle from the title looks too good to be true, and indeed, it soon turns out to be haunted and dangerous; cob-webbed passages are discovered by scared dwellers, secrets are revealed and personalities change under the weight of the past. The novel tells the story of the De Morney family, who lives in a beautiful old castle in Suffolk. Two young family members, Edwin and Roseline, start hearing strange cries and they start searching for the source of the terrifying voices. They find a system of dungeons underneath the castle and they also discover horrible secrets from their family’s past.

The abundant inventory of gothic elements make the novel a classic example of the genre, but there is an aspect that gives the novel its unusual flavor and that is the author’s feminist approach towards her subject matter. Roseline is determined to carry on with the investigation, no matter what horrors she encounters and when she gets into trouble, she solves the problem on her own. She doesn’t just wait for a man to rescue her, but on the contrary, on many occasions she becomes the rescuer herself.

Besides the scary elements and the modern way to treat female characters, the novel also provides an extraordinary mix of romantic elements and sentiments. All this, the eventful story, the sentimental background, the intriguing and complex characters are wrapped in Elizabeth Bonhôte’s entertaining and often very poetic style make Bungay Castle an excellent read for anyone.
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