Isabella Thorpe's list is composed entirely of Gothic novels, a genre notable for its strong link between nature and emotion, and one which influences Austen's characterization of environments in Northanger Abbey. Commonly referred to as the novel's "seven horrid novels" (1), Isabella's book recommendation for Catherine is really a list of eight. Two lines earlier Isabella says "when you have finished Udolpho we will read the Italian together" in reference to Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and The Italian (1797) (2).
Of these eight novels, five are written by women, three by men, and two are translated from German. The first Gothic writers were influenced by Germany's "Sturm und Drang" ("Storm and Stress"), the proto-Romantic movement that stormed German-speaking countries between the late 1760s and early 1780s. The English translation, "Storm and Stress", captures the sentiment of the movement to a degree, although "shout and strain" also conveys further emotional shading from the original language. There was certainly clamor for such literature in Britain. For instance, June of 1807, The Critical Review wrote: "So great is the rage for German tales, and German novels, that a cargo is no sooner imported than the booksellers' shops are filled with a multitude of translators, who seize with avidity and without discrimination, whatever they can lay their hands upon...[these novels are] trash...[and] worthless objects" (3). That year there was no sign of stopping, especially given that what became more widely known as the Romantic era lasted until ca 1850.
"Sturm und Drang" and Gothic literature emphasized the enormous emotional power of nature, with Gothic literature taking a more supernatural turn. According to Denise Li in the Gothic Keywords Project, "[n]ature, in the Gothic, is often the symbol for that which is sublime [… it] appears to recall a more ancient religion, pantheism" (4). A glance at the titles Isabella names is enough to appreciate the strong emotional power descriptions of environments invoke. Eliza Parson's Castle of Wolfenbach(1793) imbues the building with the heft of "Sturm und Drang" through its German name, which translates to "wolf brook" (5). Like Radcliffe, her work is featured twice, since she also wrote Mysterious Warnings (1796) (6). Their contemporary, Eleanor Sleath creates similar nature imagery and conjures German narrative modes with Orphan of the Rhine (1798) (7).
The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest is an essay in name and name changes (8). It was written by Carl Friedrich Kahlert under the pen name Ludwig Flammenberg in 1792 and translated by Peter Will, writing as Peter Teuthold in 1794. Will's translation adds more natural imagery than its original German, Der Geisterbanner, Eine Geschichte aus den Pappieren eines Dänen, or The Spectral Banner, A Tale from the Documents of a Dane (9). Meanwhile, Francis Lathom's Midnight Bell (1798) centers time instead of space in his version of the supernatural (10).
Even when the titles of these novels do not foreground the environment, when Gothic writers name their work after characters, they suggest people are as unpredictable as nature. For example, the titular character of Regina Maria Roche's Clermont (1798), refers to the protagonist's secretive father (11). Der Genius (1791-1794) written in volumes by Carl Grosse and again translated by Will in the English The Horrid Mysteries (1796) focuses on human mystery in its original title "The Genius" (12).
Not only do these titles display the depth of Austen's familiarity with contemporary Gothic fiction, but they also speak to late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century preoccupations with the uncanny in their environments and in their relationships.
