About the Author

Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717-1797), MP, collector and writer, was the fourth son of Sir Robert Walpole, the first prime minister. His most famous work is The Castle of Otranto (1764), the first Gothic novel. At Strawberry HIll, just south of London, he built a 'little Gothic castle', which he filled with antiquarian treasures. There he also established a printing press, and published works of history, art history and poetry. Kenneth Gross teaches English at the University of Rochester. He is the author of many essays on English literature, and of several books, including The Dream of the Moving Statue (1992), Shakespeare's Noise (2001) and Shylock is Shakespeare (2006). He is at work on a book about the aesthetics of puppet theatre.