Uni reading Module 2 - mini reviews!!

 hi everyone! 

A few months ago I posted my Uni Reading Module 1 mini reviews after it was requested on my Instagram poll. I promised to be back with Module 2 and I've only just now gotten round to it - sorry about that! 

If you don't already know or haven't read many of my other posts - I am a BA English Literature student and I have a really varied reading list, with some personal favourites of mine and some brand new reads too!

Module 2 - The Gothic: Transgressive to Shock

>The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole (1764)

This is hailed as the first gothic novel and it has such an interesting back story which I definitely encourage you to look into. 

This is a very typical novel of incest, secret passages, tyranny and death. Spooky paintings and a curse, a damsel chased around a castle. Reading it nowadays it's quite amusing  - I liked it!

3 ⭐⭐⭐

>Dracula - Bram Stoker (1897)

This is a really exciting gothic read. It's a little slow to start I must admit but once you get past that point it is really pacey and non-stop action.

There is so much going on in this book! Vampires, adventure and danger on the surface, and plenty of issues underneath to get your brain whirring - gender issues, race, and latent homosexuality.

4.5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

>Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (1817) 

I'm a big fan of Austen at the best of times, but this book is something else! and actually her first novel, which is all the more impressive. 

This is a hilarious parody of the gothic genre and its ability to create hysterical, overly imaginative women. Catherine Morland really does get herself in some situations - including accusing her future father-in-law of murder! 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

>The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)

I absolutely adore this book. It is beautiful and poignant and has so many important messages about race, class and strength. Never have I encountered such gorgeous, vibrant descriptions of nature before and all that it symbolises. 

This has both the eerie suspense of potential supernatural and the heart-warming elements of family and personal growth. One of my favourite classics!

I actually wrote a full review of this back in April which you can find here

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

>The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert L, Stevenson (1886)

I'm not the hugest fan of this book! I find it slow and the action only culminates in the final few chapters and then is really rushed through. I often find novellas frustrating for this reason!

However, it is a really fascinating insight into attitudes towards science at the time and if you love tense and psychological, with lots of doubling of features and metaphors then this is a great read. 

3.5 ⭐⭐⭐

>The Last Werewolf - Glen Duncan (2001)

This is the only book we haven't gotten to studying yet on the course and will be doing so next week. I haven't fully finished it yet but I'm a little way through and it's very much like Dracula, but with werewolves instead of vampires. 

It's quite violent and sexual for a YA novel but it's interesting to see how gothic is changed and adapted for such audiences, and there is quite a few humorous areas. 

3.5 ⭐⭐⭐ so far 

~

That's a wrap!! I promise that next month I will do my Module 3 reviews, which is probably my favourite reading list and I've discovered some really amazing texts!!

Until next time 

xx