Horace Walpole

Biography

Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717–1797), was an English writer, art historian, and politician who is credited with creating the Gothic novel. Born in London as the youngest son of Britain’s first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, Horace was educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge. He is best known for The Castle of Otranto (1764), widely regarded as the first Gothic novel, which introduced the literary conventions of mysterious castles, supernatural events, and dark atmospheres that would define an entire genre. Walpole was also a prolific letter writer—his correspondence, spanning over 4,000 letters, provides one of the most vivid records of eighteenth-century English social and political life. He built Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham, a pioneering example of Gothic Revival architecture that became famous throughout Europe. Walpole also established one of the first private printing presses in England at Strawberry Hill. His contributions to literature, architecture, and the art of correspondence make him one of the most multifaceted cultural figures of the eighteenth century.