WALPOLE (Horace). The Castle of Otranto. A Gothic History. Amsterdam and Paris, Prault le jeune, 1767. 2 parts in one volume in-12, blond calf, spine decorated, red edges (Binding of the period). Extremely rare French first edition of the first Gothic novel, a genre that was to become extremely popular in Europe. The French translation, based on the second English edition, was written by Marc-Antoine Eidous. "Walpole's novel is so special that we admire it a little more each time we reread it. A veritable literary tour de force, this short novel is part of several genres, or at least foreshadows them. A tale of terror, a fine example of fantasy literature, it is also a historical novel...; it is also a novel of adventure, a story of thwarted love, and it also anticipates the emergence of a new type of fiction, which will become detective literature" (Alain Morvan). Hardback: [LA SOLLE (Henri-François de)]. Mémoires et aventures de Monsieur Barniwal. Amsterdam, François Changuion, 1762. A partial reprint, very rare and little known, of La Solle's novel originally published in 1754 under the title Mémoires de deux amis, ou les aventures de Messieurs Barniwal et Rinville. An elegant copy in contemporary blond calf. The volume is appropriately titled on the spine: Le Château d'Otrante. Small repair in the blank of the title, stains pp. 22-25 of the second part; some foxing and small loss at the corner of 2 ff. in the second work. Martin-Mylne-Frautschi, 67.53 - Hazen, 55 - Lévy, 77-142 - Loliée, n°616 - Oberlé, n°1 - Alain Morvan, Frankenstein et autres romans gothiques, Pléiade, 2014, pp. 1260-1261.