TO MAKE A NOVEL (1810) A novel may be made out of a romance, or a romance out of a novel, with the greatest ease, by scratching out a few terms, and inserting others. . . . From any romance to make a novel. Where you find –   A castle, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . put A cavern, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A groan, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A giant,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A blood-stained dagger,. . . . . . . . . . . Howling blasts,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A knight,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A lady who is the heroine,. . . . . . . . . . Assassins,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A monk,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Skeletons, skulls, &c.. . . . . . . . . . A lamp,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A magic book sprinkled with blood, . . . . Mysterious voices,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . A secret oath,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   A gliding gost,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A witch,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A wound,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A midnight murder,. . . . . . . . . . . . . .   An house. A bower. A sigh. A father. A fan. Zephyrs. A gentleman without whiskers. Need not be changed, being versatile. Killing glances. An old steward. Compliments, sentiments, &c. A candle. A letter bedewed with tears. Abstruse words, (easily found in a dictionary). A tender hint accompanied with naiveté.   A usurer, or an attorney. An old housekeeper. A kiss. A marriage. The same table of course answers for transmuting a novel into a romance. [SOURCE: The Age; A Poem (London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, 1810), pp. 209–10] Return to Index of Gothic Readings