Bungay Castle (novel)

Bungay Castle is a gothic novel by Elizabeth Bonhôte, first published in 1797. It is set loosely in the thirteenth century around the First Barons' War, and follows the fortunes of the fictional De Morney family at the real Bungay Castle in Suffolk. Bonhôte's husband purchased the ruins of this castle in 1791. The novel was published by William Lane's Minerva Press, which specialised in commercial fiction for and by women. It sold well to the Minerva Press's audience but soon fell out of print, until a 2006 re-issue. Stylistically, the novel employs classic Gothic tropes but undermines the apparently-supernatural elements to create a novel that is less scary than most Gothics. The core themes of the novel are conservative and pro-monarchic, though it is now often praised for focusing on an active, brave heroine rather than a damsel in distress.