Horace Walpole

Horace Walpole was a prominent eighteenth-century author and politician famously credited with inventing the Gothic literary genre through his seminal novel, The Castle of Otranto. These sources detail his life, his interest in Orientalism, and his creation of Strawberry Hill, a pioneering Gothic Revival estate that served as both a residence and a museum for his vast art collection. While Walpole’s influence established lasting tropes of supernatural terror and architectural decay, later residents like Lady Frances Waldegrave and the Stern family played vital roles in restoring and expanding the property. The collected texts highlight how the house evolved from a private "little castle" into a high-society hub and a modern V&A exhibition subject. Together, they illustrate Walpole's dual legacy as a master of dark Romanticism and an influential figure in British cultural and political history. Start typing...