The Rec League: Gothic Romances to Darken Your Doorstep

Reader Amanda sent us this call for help! She's in search of some more gothic romances to feed her appetite:

I've been devouring Eve Silver's Dark Gothic series ( A | BN | K ) and am loving it!!

I'd like to continue exploring these types of stories, but don't know much about the genre. So I thought I'd ask the Smart Bitches community – are there any “gothic” type romances you would recommend?

Thanks so much!!

If you're unsure of what makes a romance “gothic,” don't fret! I was completely clueless and asked Sarah for some clarification, and, well, gothic romances sound totally awesome. Here is one definition, paraphrased by Sarah: 

Gothic romances were a mix of mystery, romance, horror and some paranormal, with haunted castles and ruins and dark mysterious places, often dark and damp, and perfect for the heroine to run about in her nightrail.

There's also this handy dandy link!

Since Elyse is our resident gothic romance go-to gal, she had some major input.

Victoria Holt (The King of the Castle was the subject of a very old HaBO – A | BN ) and Phyllis Whitney (The Fire and the Gold –  A | BN ) were the originals and I adore them still. (Just a note of warning, since these are so old skool, finding them in a digital format is pretty tough.) Anne Stuart ( Barrett's Hill is another old skool option – A | BN | K ) does some gothics–Brenda Novak too (Through the Smoke – A | BN )

Now Harlequin has their Shivers line, which offers a boxed set of gothic romances. They're already on Volume 4 ( A | BN | K ).

Try: Jane Godman – Legacy of Darkness ( A | BN | K ) is the first book in the Jago Legacy series, Delores Fossen has a gothic romance novella with more of contemporary twist (His to Possess – A | BN | K ), Barbara J. Hancock – try Darkening Around Me ( A | BN | K ) and Dawn Brown has The Devil's Eye series ( A | BN | K ) sharing the title with the first book in the series.

I also have a book called Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson ( A | BN ) that I haven't read yet, but looks excellent.

Sarah also added: 

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan ( A | BN | K ) is a modern version of a gothic romance – and creepy as hell, too.

I'll admit that all of these books sound awesome and I might be jumping on the gothic romance bandwagon pretty soon. 

But I know we missed some, so friends, Romans, countrywomen, lend us your gothic romance recs!

Comments are Closed

  1. Aislinn says:

    Right back when I first started getting in to romances I read two by Allison Chase – Dark Obsession and Dark Temptation. I remember them being pretty good, but I haven’t read them for at least 5 years, so that may not be accurate. Definitely gothic, though!

  2. cleo says:

    Jennifer Crusie’s Maybe This Time is an updated gothic (the only kind I really like). Like a lot of gothics, there’s more emphasis on the heroine and the creepy house than on the romance, but there is a romance. It’s set in the 1990s, which bothered some reviewers but I think it made sense – hard to create a sense of isolated dread if everyone has smart phones.

  3. Sarah S says:

    Daphne DuMaurier was the queen of the Gothic romance during the mid 20th century. You can’t go wrong with Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel.

  4. azteclady says:

    Oh oh, Sandra Schwab!! Her Castle of the Wolf is awesomesauce—I reviewed it here.

  5. Thank you for the shout-out, AL! 🙂  At the Moment Castle of the Wolf is still out of print, but a new digital edition will come out next month. (That’s plan, anyway.)

    One of my favorite gothic romances is Victoria Holt’s “The Devil on Horseback” – it’s the first of her books I’ve ever read & by now my copy is literally falling to pieces (but that might be simply due to the dreadful glue used for the binding).

  6. ppyajunebug says:

    It’s not super Gothic, but I’ve always loved Georgette Heyer’s “Cousin Kate”, which certainly has a very Jane Eyre feel to it, but is undoubtedly a Heyer book.

  7. laj says:

    Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart and The India Fan by Victoria Holt come to mind.

  8. Lisa J says:

    Dorothy Eden is another Gothic author from way back.  I enjoyed Ravenscroft quite a bit.  Her titles are also now available in e format.

  9. kkw says:

    I find Gothics frustrating because of the lack of sexy times, but most of the Gothics I’ve read are old.

    Daphne DuMaurier is fun (and so are the Hitchcock adaptations if you want some old movie versions: Rebecca, The Birds, and the rarely screened Jamaica Inn).

    Victoria Holt wrote a bunch (other pen names include Phillippa Carr and Jean Plaidy if you like her style).

    Mrs. Radcliffe is worth checking out if only for a better appreciation of Jane Austen.  There is a lot of scenery, and a lot of fainting.

    The Castle of Otranto is supposedly the start of it all, and it’s short (even if it doesn’t feel that way).

    Also The Monk is an early example, and hilariously over the top.

    And there’s always Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights if you’re a glutton for punishment.

    I’m curious to see who’s good in the genre more recently.

  10. Hannah says:

    Any of Barbara Michaels’ books would be good. Most are more mystery than romance.

  11. Kelly says:

    Dragonwyck by Anya Seton – it’s GLORIOUS. But don’t bother watching the movie with Vincent Price, it’s atrocious. But then, no gothic movie will ever surpass Hitchcock’s Rebecca.

    My favorite Victoria Holt is Mistress of Mellyn – it’s a superb mashup of Rebecca and Jane Eyre.

  12. Jody says:

    Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters wrote some really wonderful contemporary Gothics.  Ammie Come Home, Shattered Silk, and Stitches in Time are particular favorites as a loosely related series set in and around Washington, D.C. 

    Her books are slowly being digitally released and I pounce on every one.

    Phyllis Whitney is another go to Gothic author for me.  The Chinese Box and The House on the Square are lovely, atmospheric and creepy.

    Susanna Kearsley?  Her books remind me so much of Mary Stewart’s, in the best possible way.

  13. Cate says:

    Jennifer St Giles has the Kildaren trilogy, & the Trevelyan duology, which are cracking gothic reads.

  14. Vicki says:

    My piano teacher turned me on to gothics when I was eleven. She was a huge Victoria Holt fan. To this day, Bride of Pendoric reminds me of hot tropical days. It is also still a pretty good book. I also still enjoy Mary Stewart’s The Ivy Tree (mistaken identity?) and The Moon Spinners (the book, not the movie). Madeline Brent (actually Peter ODonnell who wrote Modesty Blaise) is good, too, though out of print. I especially liked Moonraker’s Bride. Phyllis Whitney’s Columbella is an ongoing favorite of mine, too. Jane Aiken Hodge had several good gothics – again hard to find – Watch the Wall, My Darling is a good one. I also loved (!) The Adventurers though I would not call it a gothic. I still have any of these and look for the others at yard sales and thrift shops.

  15. Judy W says:

      Gothic was my first love and its nice to see it coming back in style. I want to recommend Lydia Joyce, The Veil of Night. (Historical with sexy times!) And Jane Ailen Hodge (old school), specifically Watch the Wall My Darling. Title based on an old poem about smuggling. Both historical. I second Mary Stewart and Holt

  16. Hannah says:

    Good news—some of Jane Aiken Hodge’s books have been re-released digitally, including Watch the Wall, My Darling.

  17. Eve Silver says:

    Amanda, I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying my gothics!

    A few recs: The Haunting of Maddy Clare, Silence for the Dead, An Inquiry into Love and Death by Simone St. James. My favorite Daphne Du Maurier gothic is Jamaica Inn. I loved Jennifer St. Giles Mistress of Trevelyan. If you like YA, try April Genevieve Tucholke’s Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd.

  18. Miranda says:

    Jill Tattersall wrote some crazy over-the-top gothics, but I don’t think they’re on digital. My favorite Barbara Michaels is Sons of the Wolf.

  19. puckbuff13 says:

    I second the recommendation for Jennifer St. Giles’ The Mistress of Trevelyan. It’s a fantastic read set in late 19th century San Francisco and while the plot is a familiar one (insanely rich & tortured man hires an independent thinking governess for sons…instant sexual tension, blahblahblah), this novel features a murder mystery (who killed the first wife? who’s haunting the governess?) and overall darker feel than you find in many romance books.

    Overall the book is a blast to read and I enjoyed all of the characters…not a poorly written one among them. I first read this book about 9 years ago after a friend picked it up for me at RWA and I’ve read it numerous times since and even wore out my paperback copy. Sadly the hideous orange covered version is now out of print, but a digitally version – with a less awesome cover – is now available.

  20. Converseleigh says:

    The new Susan Elizabeth Phillips is an homage to gothics and actually dedicated to a number of gothic novelists like Holt, Whitney, and du Maurier. If you are familiar with the genre the inside jokes are a scream but even if not it is a fun read.

  21. Amanda says:

    Thank you Smart Bitches Community! 🙂 I’m smiling like a crazy person reading all these recommendations! Can’t wait to get reading!

  22. malatt says:

    Some of Laura Kinsale’s books have gothic elements—I’m thinking specifically of For My Lady’s Heart, the unabridged version. If you like audiobooks, it’s an excellent one to listen to. Lots of Middle English that really comes to life when read aloud.

  23. LML says:

    Titles by Holt, DuMaurier, Whitney, Hodge, Stewart.  Gracious, how this thread tugged my memories back to the long and languid Sunday afternoons of my pre and early teen years.  Ahh, how I love books.

  24. Vee says:

    Elsie Lee wrote some pretty good gothics back in the 70’s and 80’s.  I believe they are out of print

    Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ new book “Heros Are My Weakness” is a gothic .  Unfortunately, it was not what I expected.  I disliked it intensely and did not read the entire book before I Returned it back to the library.

  25. PamG says:

    I cut my romance reading teeth on the old school gothics and I love most of the authors mentioned here, especially Peters/Michaels, Stewart, Hodge and Madeline Brent who gets a gold star for really strong heroines.  I also enjoyed Isabell Holland and Jill Tattersall, both of whom are out of print I’m sure.  Finally, Cliffs of Night by Beatrice Brandon was a fav of mine for a number of years.  No sexy-times in any of these, but—what can I say—I’m older than dirt.

  26. Moriah says:

    Lydia Joyce wrote a series of books in mid-2000s that are Gothic in tone.  She isn’t writing anymore, but I remember loving them.  I wish she was still writing.  The titles can be read as stand alones, but I believe some of the characters are connected.  I believe some of them are set aside England.

    Titles include:
    Voices of the Night
    Wicked Intentions
    The Veil of Night
    Music of the Night
    Shadows of the Night
    Whispers of the Night

  27. Another voice in support of Michaels/Peters. “The Crying Child” haunted me and so did a few others she wrote as contemporary gothics.

    Also gothic but with different undertones and a fantasy overlay is “The Bride of the Rat God” by Barbara Hambly set in early Hollywood. One of my absolute favourite novels.

  28. Ellie says:

    I read The Monk and Rebecca for the same class (Modern British Novel). I hated the first but loved the second.

  29. Charlotte Cotton says:

    I cut my teeth on Janet Louise Roberts in the 1980’s. She wrote most of her books in the 1970’s. Janet wrote standard romance, but her best were her gothics. Alpha men were her stock and trade. What would be called a rapist today. She made it okay by marriage between the H/h. The ones that stick out are “The Devils Own” and “The Isle of the Dolphins”. The latter of the two is about a demi god, and the girl he falls for who talks to dolphins. Lots of murder and “da, da, da… moments.  The devils own is really about the devil and his sweet young thing… orgies and wow. I can’t believe it was written in the 1970’s.  Gothics with sex and the women who suffer through it.

    When I am in a masochistic state of mind I pull the old Gothics out and suffer the trials of womanhood in the good old “bad old” days.  Gothics are great. I want to pull out my old books in the garage and have a “gothic reading orgy” with a dusty old book; set in a dusty old castle with a young girl in a filmy night rail.

  30. Sandra says:

    Hunter’s Hill by Mary Bishop has been on my keeper shelf forever, right next to the Holts and Stewarts and Heyers. Late Gilded Age set in Maine. Pretty sure its OOP, but you might find it at a UBS.

    Didn’t SBTB have a blog post not long ago about a site that has oodles of old gothic covers? That might be a place to check for suggestions.

  31. Kelly S. says:

    I concur with Phylis Whitney & Victoria Holt & Barbara Michaels.  Also, I love Mary Stewart. Touch Not the Cat and The Ivy Tree are two of my favorites

  32. tealadytoo says:

    Great recs.  Specific titles I’ve loved:
    Holt- The India Fan, The Silk Vendetta
    Barbara Michaels – Grey Gallows
    Madeleine Brent – Tregaron’s Daughter

    Also,
    Rebecca James – Tomorrow is Mine (tough to find)
    And, oddly enough, Andre Norton wrote some great gothics, though better known for sci-fi.  Loved her “Iron Butterflies”.

  33. Sanna says:

    Susan Howatch! The Shrouded Walls is hilarious. And I think The High Flyer is so good because it’s grounded in gothic principles.

  34. Thank you for mentioning Shivers and DARKENING AROUND ME! I’m going to second Eve Silver on Simone St. James. I love her. And also add Amanda Stevens Graveyard Queen books. I think she has a new one coming soon. She does the atmosphere and the sexy, dark hero so well! That series starts with The Restorer.

  35. Izzy says:

    This is my jam! I love gothics and am thrilled to see them featured. Phyllis Whitney was my gateway drug. My favorite of hers is The Trembling Hills, set against the earthquakes and Great Fires of San Francisco. Many of the other authors mentioned here are faves as well. I’d also suggest Kay Hooper’s Finding Laura and Haunting Rachel. There may be more titles that are connected to those books, but I can’t remember off the top of my head. Happy reading!

  36. Magpie says:

    I third the recommendation of Jill Tattersall – she wrote classic gothics with great moody settings. My particular favorites are The Wild Hunt and Damnation Reef.

  37. CareyH says:

    I am in the middle of “The Magicians and Mrs. Quent” by Galen Beckett and I’m loving it! It was written in 2008 but very much in the gothic style. Just found it is the first of a trilogy.

  38. Jane Godman says:

    Thank you for including Shivers and mentioning my Jago Legacy books! It’s lovely to be included in this company. I’m a huge fan of gothic romances and I think my favourites are all mentioned in the comments above.
    I love the fact that Georgette Heyer’s ‘Cousin Kate’ gets at shout out! She is known as the queen of the Regency Romance and this title is much maligned, but I like to think she wrote it to show she had a dark side.
    And just the mention of Victoria Holt’s titles sends me scurrying for my kindle to re-read them.

  39. Danker says:

    This isn’t my usual area of interest, but I’ve enjoyed reading these posts.
    I so agree with Jane Godman about Heyer’s Cousin Kate.
    Thanks to everyone for the many generous shares. I’m off to start buying.
    Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney, Barbara Michaels bring back memories of yore, while I’ve only recently come across Eve Silver.
    I’ve decided to track down the ‘hilarious’ Shrouded Walls by Howatch. I’m almost certain I read it as a teenager.

  40. Dibs says:

    Elsie Lee and Anne Stevenson and Ann Eliot come to mind.

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