Matilda Weimar flees her lecherous and incestuous uncle and seeks refuge in the ancient Castle of Wolfenbach. Among the castle's abandoned chambers, Matilda will discover the horrifying mystery of the missing Countess of Wolfenbach. But when her uncle tracks her down, can she escape his despicable intentions? One of the seven "horrid novels" named in Jane Austen's , is perhaps the most important of the early Gothic novels, predating both and . This edition reprints the complete text of the 1793 edition and includes a new introduction and notes by Diane Long Hoeveler, one of the foremost modern scholars of Gothic literature and feminism.