Uncle Silas (1864)
A creepy, gothic thriller that I enjoyed once I got used to the writing style.
This is a paperback I’ve had on my shelf for over a decade. In 2014, I watched the queer vampire web series Carmilla, loosely based on the vampire novella of the same name by Sheridan Le Fanu. The series is set in Silas University, and I wanted to read the book that gave the settings its name – but I was put off by the sheer size.
I’m glad I finally read it.
It’s a creepy gothic horror novel, in which our protagonist and narrator Maud leaves her home after her father’s death, and is placed in the care of her reclusive Uncle Silas. All is not well, and she soon finds herself in mortal danger. At the end of the book, the pieces slot together into a satisfying conclusion.
The style of writing isn’t one I’m used to, and I struggled in the early chapters. As I got further into the book, I got used to it and found it easier to enjoy. I had a clear sense of what was happening in each scene, and I never had to refer to external notes or plot summaries to understand what I just read.
This took me most of August to finish, so I don’t expect to read more in this genre – but it was fun to try something different, and tick off one of the long-standing items on my TBR pile.