The Old English Baron is one of the earliest Gothic Horror novels, written in 1778 by Clara Reeve in response to Horace Walpole's 1764 The Castle of Otranto. The novel attempted to distill the distinctive feeling of Gothic dread while simultaneously excising the more over-the-top and ridiculous plot elements.
Set during The Crusades, the story opens with an English nobleman Sir Phillip Harclay returning from the Holy Land to visit his old friend Lord Arthur Lovell, only to learn that Lovell, his wife, and his son all died years ago. He then meets a mysterious young peasant named Edmund, who looks just like Arthur (and is, of course, his presumed-dead son and heir). The POV then switches to Edmund, who investigates his parentage after Sir Philip's departure and discovers the truth: his parents were murdered by his evil uncle, who has since inherited the Lovell title and castle (even though he does not live in the latter, preferring to rent it out to the noble Fitz-Owen family, Edmund's patrons). Hounded by his nephews Wenlock and Markham, Edmund goes into hiding and seeks out Sir Philip again, who defeats Edmund's uncle in a judicial duel, forcing him to confess. Justice is restored, Edmund reclaims the castle and marries his sweetheart Emma Fitz-Owen, and they live happily ever after.
The novel contains examples of following tropes:
- Decoy Protagonist: Sir Philip is introduced as the first POV character, before ceding the stage to Edmund.
- Gothic Horror: The novel is one of the earliest specimen of the genre, predating Ann Radcliffe's much more influential contributions by over a decade. In particular, the sequence where Wenlock and Markham are trapped in the haunted wing of the castle is often cited as a key early example of Gothic dread.
- Haunted Castle: The Lovell castle is haunted by the ghost of the murdered Lord Arthur (even if some of the sightings later turn out to be a "Scooby-Doo" Hoax).
- Never Trust a Title: While the published title seems to indicate that that book is about Baron Fitz-Owen, he ends up playing a tiny role in the overall plot. The real protagonists are Edmund and Sir Philip — in fact, the
earliest draft of the novel had been titled The Champion of Virtue by Reeve, specifically referring to Sir Philip. - Rightful King Returns: Edmund is so obviously the true heir of Arthur Lovell, the book doesn't bother pretending like it's a big mystery. Instead, the suspense comes from the question of how Edmund is going to legitimate his claim.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: The "ghost" that scares the heck out of Wenlock and Markham Lovell turns out to be an old servant of Lord Arthur out to teach them a lesson.
- Scrapbook Story: The Champion of Virtue draft had been written like this, before Reeve rewrote the story into a continuous narrative, albeit with regular time-skips.
- Trial by Combat: Upon learning of his heritage, Edmund asks Sir Philip to be his champion in a judicial duel against his uncle (since Edmund himself was raised as a peasant and has never held a sword before).
