Advertisement
Books

Top 5 gothic mysteries, selected by acclaimed queer author CA Castle

The writer of The Manor House Governess shares his favourite atmospheric thrillers

Unsettling and uncanny, these gothic mysteries are perfect winter reads for those who enjoy a light spooking.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

A psychologically gripping gothic novel that follows an unnamed young woman whose life is overturned after her marriage to the older Maxim de Winter and her move into the beautiful estate of Manderley, where secrets, death and sinister housekeepers abide.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James 

A horror story about an unnamed governess who comes to care for two children, who may or may not be possessed, in the remote country house of Bly. Henry James’s wonderful novella is the perfect gothic mystery. 

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu 

A vampiric novella (1872) that predates the more famous Dracula by Bram Stoker, Carmilla is a seductive story of sapphic desire that should sit at the top of everyone’s to-be-read pile.  

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Austen’s first full novel to be written is a parody of the gothic genre following the naive Catherine Morland, whose fancy for fiction might just get her into trouble.  

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

This Victorian novel follows the titular character’s journey through class, religious and sexual struggles. Jane gets her fairy-tale-like ending, and the novel is considered one of the most famous romances ever to be written. 

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertisement
The Manor House Governess by CA Castle

The Manor House Governess by CA Castle is out now in paperback (Black & White, £8.99). You can buy these titles from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine, which exists to give homeless, long-term unemployed and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy!

If you cannot reach your local vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member. You can also purchase one-off issues

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

It's our call to Keir Starmer to pass a law to end poverty.
big issue vendor holding up a 'we need a poverty zero law' sign

Recommended for you

Read All
The best books to read in summer 2025
Summer books

The best books to read in summer 2025

Women were a huge part of the Gold Rush. Why do we never hear about them?
Women

Women were a huge part of the Gold Rush. Why do we never hear about them?

Top 5 spy books for kids, chosen by Cecily Sawyer author Iona Rangeley
Books

Top 5 spy books for kids, chosen by Cecily Sawyer author Iona Rangeley

It's Terrible the Things I Have to Do to Be Me by Philippa Snow review – insights into female celebrity
Books

It's Terrible the Things I Have to Do to Be Me by Philippa Snow review – insights into female celebrity

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue