Is Gothic literature dead?

[paigenumber]

However, back to the subject: I don't think the gothic romance (in the vein of Holt, Whitney, et al) will make its return. Even though a few of Victoria Holt's books have been reissued, I think the genre is viewed by most people today as somewhat kitschy. Or at their most superficial, anti-feminist due to the gothic craze producing a "formula" (innocent heroine, cruel hero, spooky atmosphere, other woman) that the best gothic romance writers didn't even do (compare a churned out GR to a Victoria Holt novel, or even a Madeline Brent, and you'll see that people took the superficial elements of the genre and produced tons of books in that vein). I write, and most of my books have an element of gothic romance in them, but readers today either don't have the patience with the GR "formula" or they don't realize they're getting it through the best-selling category romance line: Harlequin Presents.

I think you make a good point that there are Gothic elements in other romance books, but it is not recognized as such, and publishers are not likely to point them out. However, I hope you're wrong that Gothics will not return. Even a "formula" would be welcomed by me at this time, as long as the writing and plotting is good. There are several authors here that say they write some form of Gothic. What I'd like is to see the genre re-introduced.