Showtime series Penny Dreadful wrapped up its third season earlier this year, with no indication a fourth season would be produced. If you can’t get enough of this historical horror show, consider reading (or re-reading!) the gothic literary classics that came first. These quality editions are all priced at $2 or less and include linked tables of contents and in some cases, bonus materials as well.
Frankenstein – Mary Shelly (4/5 stars, currently priced at 99 cents)
• This e-book publication includes a detailed author biography
• This edition also includes historical background
• A new table of contents with working links has been included
• This edition has been corrected for spelling and grammatical errors
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a classic tale of a man-made monster seeking acceptance from society in light of his ghastly appearance and strange upbringing. With Europe as its back in the 1790’s, the story begins with a series of letters exchanged between Captain Robert Walton and his sister that chronicled the story of a man, Victor Frankenstein, whom he meets on the North Pole.
Frankenstein, loved by many decades of readers and praised by such eminent literary critics, seems hardly to need a recommendation. If you haven’t read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelgänger themes of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece.
Dracula (Illustrated) – Bram Stoker (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at 99 cents)
“There was one great tomb more lordly than all the rest; huge it was, and nobly proportioned. On it was but one word, DRACULA.”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula
The greatest and most famous vampire novel of all time DRACULA has inspired countless adaptations —none with the same power to quicken the pulse as the original. Bram Stoker’s novel is both a Gothic reflection of the Victorian era and a timeless tale of sinister lust. First published in 1897, Dracula established the ground rules for virtually all vampire fiction written in its wake.
Acting on behalf of his firm of solicitors, Jonathan Harker travels to the Carpathian Mountains to finalize the sale of England’s Carfax Abbey to Transylvanian noble Count Dracula. Little does he realize that, in doing so, he endangers all that he loves. For Dracula is one of the Un-Dead–a centuries-old vampire who sleeps by day and stalks by night, feasting on the blood of his helpless victims. Once on English soil, the count sets his sights on Jonathan’s circle of associates, among them his beloved wife Mina. To thwart Dracula’s evil designs, Jonathan and his friends will have to accept as truth the most preposterous superstitions concerning vampires, and in the company of legendary vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, embark on an unholy adventure for which even their worst nightmares have not prepared them.
*Includes image gallery.
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at 99 cents)
The Picture of Dorian Gray is Irish author Oscar Wilde’s controversial, and only, novel. This edition of the classic includes a [linked] table of contents.
One Amazon reviewer says:
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a Gothic horror novel which explores the themes of decadence, vanity and unrestrained pleasures. Dorian Gray is an incredibly handsome and frequently-fawned-over young man. Artist, Basil Harwood, paints a stunning portrait of Dorian which draws the admiration of Lord Wotton. As the three men are admiring it, Dorian says he would give anything for the portrait to age instead of him.
It isn’t long before Dorian begins to notice minute changes in the portrait, a cruel twist of the lips, evidence of his debauchery lining the eyes. It becomes apparent that Dorian is getting his wish – the painting is aging instead of him. As the novel progresses, Dorian slowly becomes a monster inside, ruled by vanity and pleasures, but it is the figure in the painting which shows the physical evidence of Dorian’s cruelty.
The Allan Quatermain Series: 15 Books and Stories in One Volume – Unexpurgated Edition (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $1.99)
This collection contains H. Rider Haggard’s Quatermain series, including ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ and ‘Allan Quatermain.’ Includes an active table of contents for easy navigation.
Contents:
King Solomon’s Mines
Allan Quatermain
Allan’s Wife
Maiwa’s Revenge
Marie
Child of Storm
Allan the Holy Flower
Finished
The Ivory Child
The Ancient Allan
Allan and the Ice-Gods
Magepa the Buck
A Tale of Three Lions
Hunter Quatermain’s Story
Long Odds
Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) was an English writer of adventure novels set predominantly in Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. Haggard is most famous as the author of the novels KING SOLOMON’S MINES and its sequel ALLAN QUATERMAIN, and SHE and its sequel AYESHA, swashbuckling adventure novels set in the context of late 19th century Africa. Hugely popular KING SOLOMON’S MINES is one of the best-selling adventure books of all time.
This unexpurgated edition contains the complete text, with minor errors and omissions corrected.
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