The Castle of Otranto

Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (London, September 24, 1717 – London, March 2, 1797), was an English aristocrat and novelist. He inaugurated a new literary genre, the Gothic novel, with the publication of The Castle of Otranto (1764).

Walpole, Earl of Orford, was the youngest son of British Prime Minister Robert Walpole. He graduated from King's College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics, music, and anatomy. In 1741, he entered the English parliament, remaining as a member after his father's death in 1745. Loyal to King George II and Queen Caroline, Walpole took their side against their son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, whom he referred to bitterly in his memoirs. Walpole's residence, Strawberry Hill, near Twickenham, is a fanciful ensemble in the neo-Gothic style, inspiring an architectural trend.

In 1757, Walpole began printing his works at Strawberry Hill. The publications are numerous, but his memoirs, recorded in correspondence with his friends, have become a detailed source of information for historians about the political and social scene of that period.