English Language and Literature Commons^™

The Mysteries Of A London Convent [Transcript], William H. Hillyard

Gothic Archive Chapbooks

Published in The London Miscellany and written by William Heard Hillyard (1811-1870), this 22 chapter story must have been considered a guaranteed blockbuster with the newspaper’s intended reading audience.

The Mysteries of a London Convent relies most immediately on the sensational categories that we saw delineated in The Mysteries of the Inquisition, as well as another and earlier penny dreadful production with an almost identical plot, Smiff’s The New Mysteries of London (1858), written in imitation of Reynolds’s blockbuster The Mysteries of London (1844-48).

The Nun, Or Memoirs Of Angelique; A Tale [Transcript], Unknown

Gothic Archive Chapbooks

The Nun, or Memoirs of Angelique; A Tale begins as the written memoirs of Angelique. A young noblewoman, Angelique loves her cousin Ferdinand. However, when Angelique’s family’s fortune seems to have been lost at sea, Angelique’s father rashly vows that his daughter will become a nun should his ships safely return. When the ships return, Angelique is sent to a convent, where she takes her vows. Soon thereafter, Ferdinand sneaks into the convent dressed as a novitiate, and he quickly persuades Angelique to elope with him. After a midnight wedding, Angelique and Ferdinand escape the convent through a secret passageway. …

The Gothic Story Of Courville Castle; Or The Illegitimate Son, A Victim Of Prejudice And Passion: Owing To The Early Impressions Inculcated With Unremitting Assiduity By An Implacable Mother Whose Resentment To Her Husband Excited Her Son To Envy, Usurpation, And Murder; But Retributive Justice At Length Restores The Right Heir To His Lawful Possessions. To Which Is Added The English Earl: Or The History Of Robert Fitzwalter, Unknown

Gothic Archive Chapbooks

The Gothic Story of Courville Castle begins with Alphonso de Courville returning to his ancestral castle after traveling through foreign lands. During Alphonso’s German travels, he had been attacked by banditti and fallen in love with Julia, a baron’s daughter. However, when Alphonso returns home to gain his uncle’s consent for his marriage, Alphonso is shocked to find Courville Castle entirely abandoned. Alphonso finds a note from his uncle explaining that Alphonso is the true owner of Courville Castle and that the uncle can no longer bear to reside there. Alphonso explores the castle and finds a decaying female corpse …