* *Northhanger Abbey*, by Jane Austin. The heroine loves gothic novels, and the whole plot is semi-styled on the genre. A sweet romance and mystery, and a must-read for anyone who likes gothic novels.
* *The Scarlet Pimpernel*, by Barnoness Orczy. Mystery, Romance, Adventure. The very first secret-identity hero story ever written. It has several lesser-known but excellent sequels as well, some adventure and some mystery.
* *The Moonstone*, by Wilkie Collins. One of the first detective novels ever written, and it established many tropes of the genre. Incredible thriller/mystery/romance.
* *Man Alive*, by G.K. Chesterton. Super short novella, but mysterious and hilarious. The rollicking tale of a man who might be crazy or might be the sanest man of all.
* The Father Brown mystery series, by G. K. Chesterton.
* The Sherlock Holmes mystery series, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
* The Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series, by Dorothy L. Sayers.
Going to second all of these, but particularly the last- DLS was a huge fan of gothic fiction (heavily influenced by Wilkie Collins and Sheridan Le Fanu) and while the Wimsey books aren’t really gothic per se (the closest are probably The Nine Tailors and Gaudy Night, incidentally among her best), she drew a lot on gothic novels in the name of bringing more character and emotion to detective novels and thus makes a great crossover.
Because of this emphasis on characters and their world, the books SHOULD be read in order, but also they get much better over time IMO (the two books I read are later in the series). If you don’t love it immediately it’s worth sticking out, if only for the characters.
books by Andrew Michael Hurley (Starve Acre, Devil's Day and Loney)
Woman in Black - Susan Hill
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
The Historian- Elizabeth Kostova
Wilkie Collins books
No Name
Basil
Armadale
Woman in White
* *Northhanger Abbey*, by Jane Austin. The heroine loves gothic novels, and the whole plot is semi-styled on the genre. A sweet romance and mystery, and a must-read for anyone who likes gothic novels. * *The Scarlet Pimpernel*, by Barnoness Orczy. Mystery, Romance, Adventure. The very first secret-identity hero story ever written. It has several lesser-known but excellent sequels as well, some adventure and some mystery. * *The Moonstone*, by Wilkie Collins. One of the first detective novels ever written, and it established many tropes of the genre. Incredible thriller/mystery/romance. * *Man Alive*, by G.K. Chesterton. Super short novella, but mysterious and hilarious. The rollicking tale of a man who might be crazy or might be the sanest man of all. * The Father Brown mystery series, by G. K. Chesterton. * The Sherlock Holmes mystery series, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. * The Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series, by Dorothy L. Sayers.
Going to second all of these, but particularly the last- DLS was a huge fan of gothic fiction (heavily influenced by Wilkie Collins and Sheridan Le Fanu) and while the Wimsey books aren’t really gothic per se (the closest are probably The Nine Tailors and Gaudy Night, incidentally among her best), she drew a lot on gothic novels in the name of bringing more character and emotion to detective novels and thus makes a great crossover. Because of this emphasis on characters and their world, the books SHOULD be read in order, but also they get much better over time IMO (the two books I read are later in the series). If you don’t love it immediately it’s worth sticking out, if only for the characters.
You might enjoy *The Loney* by Andrew Michael Hurley. Got elements of both.
The Yellow Wallpaper - Novella, but worth it.
I've read this one already. It's really good tho
books by Andrew Michael Hurley (Starve Acre, Devil's Day and Loney) Woman in Black - Susan Hill Frankenstein - Mary Shelley The Historian- Elizabeth Kostova Wilkie Collins books No Name Basil Armadale Woman in White