Before the Count

Before the Count, a collection of pre-Dracula tales, is now available, edited by Margo Collins. Good read, I suggest you purchase it!

Zittaw Press is back...

After a prolonged absence Zittaw Press has finally returned. This break allowed me to re-evaluate Zittaw in light of my full time commitment to academia. The balance, needless to say, has at times been precarious as my commitment to my students (who want a timely response to their papers) and our readers (who expect good quality Gothic reproductions) pull me in two directions. After careful consideration we decided to continue Zittaw Press and keep the commitment we made to our readers to offer scholarly (and affordable) editions of rare Gothic novels. While we will never be able to offer the same number of novels as Valancourt Press, we do hope that we can contribute to this growing body of Gothic reproductions.

Before the Count: British Vampire Tales, 1732-1897 is at the printers as we speak and Sarah Wilkinson's The Spectre of Lanmere Abbey and The Child of Mystery are on their way next week.

Lastly, we have just relocated from Thousand Oaks/Camarillo to Crestline California (next to Lake Arrowhead), much to the distress of our kids, but are settling in nicely. Please note the new address if you have any correspondence with us: Zittaw Press PO Box 3157 Crestline CA 92325.

Forthcoming Titles

Zittaw Press is pleased to announce the following forthcoming publications: Romance Readers and Romance Writers by Sarah Green and The Child of Mystery by Sarah Wilkinson.

Chapbook Reproductions

Today is the last day to get your chapbook reproduction, get them while you can. Zittaw Press is in the process of gathering these tales into a collection which will appear later this spring.

But for the reproductions, they are coming to an end!

The Fugitive Countess

Zittaw Press is pleased to announce that we will be publishing Sarah Wilkinson's The Fugitive Countess; or The Convent of St. Ursula in a special 200th anniversary edition.

Review of Bungay Castle in Dark Realms Magazine

Bungay Castle by Elizabeth Bonhote Edited by Curt Herr Zittaw Press ($14.95) Trade Paperback

Editor Curt Herr invites readers to rediscover a 200-year-old treasure, as he guides us on an exploration of a lesser-known but no less classic tale of gothic romance and mystery in Bungay Castle. Herr, a teacher of gothic literature, explains in his eloquent introduction that this novel, like the castle for which it was named, was "built to last." Herr points out that author Elizabeth Bonhote's reversal of gender stereotypes concept for an 18th century female writer contemporary feminist roles. Herr also footnotes the text throughout for more academic study of its importance since the novel was first published in 1796. The lovely heroine of Bungay Castle is Roseline, a young woman who seeks more to life than what is expected of her. Accompanied by her brother Edwin, she sets out to investigate ghostly sounds emanating from the castle's ancient dungeons. There they discover a true horror from their family's past tragedy, and despair. A must-read for students and fans of gothic literature, Bungay Castle is a prime example of the subtle unease and suspense of the genre.

Christine Filipak
Dark Realms Magazine
http://www.monolithgraphics.com/darkrealms.html

The End of Gothic Chapbook Reproductions

Zittaw Press sadly announces the end of the series of Gothic chapbook reproductions. For almost four years we have thoroughly enjoyed make reproductions of these rare tales of terror, but as interest in these little productions has waned, we must face reality and cease production. As of February 1st these handmade chapbooks will no longer be made.

There is no doubt that these tales of terror, though, are an important aspect of literary history and Zittaw Press is committed to ensuring that these chapbooks are preserved. Consequently we are looking into offering some of the titles as ebooks available for downloading, as well as the possibility of anthologies or collections, but at this time we are looking into all options.

We have appreciated all your support, patronage and insights. Zittaw Press will continue to publish rare 18th and 19th century Gothic fiction and hope to enable scholars and students of the Gothic access to these rare texts.

Best,
Franz and Serena Potter
Zittaw Press

The Abbess Now Available

William Henry Ireland's The Abbess is now available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. Enjoy the Gothic!

Edith Birkhead's The Tale of Terror

Zittaw Press is pleased to announce that a new edition of Edith Birkhead's The Tale of Terror: A Study of the Gothic Romance will be published in spring 2007. With an updated introduction and notes, Birkhead's 1921 groundbeaking study will be available to all readers of the Gothic.

New Titles available

The Horrors of Oakendale Abbey and Rayland Hall are both now available at online booksellers. Get them while they are hot and start enjoying the holloween buildup.

The demise of some bluebooks

Effective October 31st, the following Gothic chapbook reproductions will NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE:

Albert of Werdendorf; or, The Midnight Embrace
The Bloody Hand; or, The Fatal Cup
Black Forest or the Cavern of Death
The Horrible Revenge
Maid of Lochlin
The Spectres
Chateau de Montville
The Wandering Spirit

New Chapbooks Now Available

The following chapbooks are now available: The Mysterious Bottle of Old Hock (1825), Saint Anthony's Flask; or, The Devil's Wine! (1830) and Sarah Wilkinson's The Castle Spectre: An Ancient Baronial Romance (1820) Also now available are two Gothic dramas: Matthew Lewis's The Castle Spectre (1798) and Edward Fitzball's The Devil's Elixir (1829).

The Horrors of Oakendale Abbey is now at the printers and The Abbess and Rayland Hall are on their way soon.

Read More Gothic!

READING THE GOTHIC: The Forgotten Goth

Our new installment of Reading the Gothic is now available, in this episode we are discussing the forgotten Goth, Francis Lathom.

READING THE GOTHIC: Blood and Morality

Our new installment of Reading the Gothic is now available, in this episode we are discussing Blood and Morality in William Child Green's The Abbot of Montserrat.

The Castle Spectre

Zittaw Press is pleased to announce a new series of reproductions beginning August 7th: Gothic Dramas. The Series will commence with the release of Matthew Lewis's drama The Castle Spectre which will be released together with the Sarah Wilkinson's chapbook adaptation of The Castle Spectre. Other forthcoming titles include the drama The Devil's Elixir; or, The Shadowless Man which will be released with the chapbook Saint Anthony's Flask, Edward Fitz-Ball's The Flying Dutchman; or, The Phantom Ship and Matthew Lewis's One O'Clock; or, The Knight of the Wood Demon. All titles will only be available through our website at www.zittaw.com.

Podcast

This week's podcast will be slightly delayed as I am out of town. We are enjoying the great response from these casts and appreciate your feedback. Read more Gothic.

READING THE GOTHIC: Adapting Horror

Our fifth installment of Reading the Gothic is now available, in this episode we are going to be looking at the adaptability and popularity of the Gothic novel. From Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto to Stephen King’s Cell, from James Whale’s Frankenstein to Eli Roth’s The Hostel, the Gothic continues to permeate fiction and film today. Why though? Its not as if the giant helmet that crushed the poor Conrad could illicit more than laughter from today’s readers, and it’s hard to imagine an eighteenth century reader understanding the Zombie effects of a cell phone in Stephen King’s dark wasteland. So how does the Gothic continue to hold its deathlike grip on us? Simple, it adapts, finding what the modern reader finds most horrific and holds it up to the light for us to see.

New German Gothic Series

Zittaw Press is proud to announce the launch of a new series of Ten German Gothic novels that have shaped and influenced their English counterparts. This unique series, under the direction of Norbert Besch and Franz Potter, will begin in 2007 with Matthew Lewis's The Bravo of Venice (1805); from the German of Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke.

The other titles will include:

Peter Will: The Victim of Magical Delusion (1795); from the German of Cajetan Tschink.

Joseph Trapp: The Genius; or, the Mysterious adventures of Don Carlos de Grandez (1796) from the German of Carl Grosse.

Anon.: Hermann of Unna (1794); from the German of Christiane Benedicte Eugenie Naubert.

Matthew Gregory Lewis: Feudal Tyrants (1806); from the German of Christiane Benedicte Eugenie Naubert.

John Hinckley: The History of Rinaldo Rinaldini; Captain of Banditti (1800); from the German of Christian August Vulpius.

D. Boileau: The Ghost-seer (1795); from the German of Friedrich von Schiller.

Robert Pierce Gillies: The Devil's Elixir (1824); from the German of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hofmann.

Three Gothic Novels from the German of Veit Weber (i.e. Leonhard Waechter)
Robert Huish: The Sorcerer
Anon.: The Black Valley
James Powell: Wolf; or, The Tribunal of Blood

Anon.: The Dwarf of Westerbourg (1827); from the German of Christian Heinrich Spiess.

A special thanks must go out to Norbert Besch for all his assistance in this forthcoming series as well as contributing to Zittaw Press as a whole. Through his diligent efforts, Zittaw Press has been able to obtain many of the texts republished thus far, and his guidance in this new series is greatly appreciated.

New Gothic titles

Its wonderful to see the resurrection of the Gothic proceed with such speed suddenly. For years we have been confined to only a small number of non-canonical titles available and now there seems to be new titles finding their way to bookshelves and libraries. Its about time. We have recently added four new titles to our forthcoming list for 2007 including George Moore's Grasville Abbey, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Richard Warner's Netley Abbey and Matthew Lewis's The Bravo of Venice which we hope will add to the further study of the Gothic. As usual, if you have any suggestions or projects you would like to suggest, please drop me an email.

READING THE GOTHIC: Garish Supernatual Horrors of The Abbess

Our fourth podcast of Reading the Gothic is now available, in this episode we discuss William Henry Ireland's The Abbess.