October 14, 2009

Gothic Fiction Giveaway

Originally Posted October 1, 2009
It has been a year of blogging at Obsessed With Books and to celebrate I will be giving away the following Gothic fiction 'modern classics' to three lucky winners. I read all three before I started blogging but the memory of them has stayed with me since, each being a distintictive work of fiction. All three novels are new, never been opened!

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind (Trade Paperback) In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille''s genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"-the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (Mass Market Paperback) To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history....Late one night, exploring her father''s library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of-a labyrinth where the secrets of her father''s past and her mother''s mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known-and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself-to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive. Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions-and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad''s ancient powers-one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil.

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Trade Paperback) Barcelona, 1945?A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called "The Shadow of the Wind," by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax''s other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that "The Shadow of the Wind" is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author''s identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.

I recently posted about my love of Gothic fiction, as well as historical and timeslip novels with Gothic elements, and I thought what better way to highlight the genre than to hold a contest!  

One entry per person. Open to entries worldwide. Entry Deadline: October 30th  
Winners Announced: October 31st  

What to Do: Comment on this blog post naming your favourite Gothic fiction novel or novel containing Gothic elements. Please include your email address in the comment and your book of choice out the three in the giveaway (pick one). Earn an additional entry by linking to this post on your blog. Don't forget to let me know!
 
Related Posts:
Gothic Fiction - Historical and Timeslip Favourites

13 comments:

  1. My favorite novel containing Gothic elements is Wuthering Heights.
    I would love to win Perfume.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

    fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

    I also posted this on my blog sidebar (under Other Giveaways).

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  2. My favorite Gothic novels are Jane Eyre and the Woman in White.
    I'd love to win The Shadow of the Wind.

    j.brol@yahoo.com

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  3. Mary D
    zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

    Love Gothic Fiction! There are several good ones written by Nathanial Hawthorne, like House of the Seven Gables (one of my favs).

    But my all-time favorite is also Wuthering Heights (oooh - gotta love Heathcliff - Cathy was such a moron lol)... I think I end up re-reading about once every 4-5 years. The moors, the brooding Heathcliff, the atmosphere is perfect. Wish she had done a sequel :)

    I'd LOVE to win Shadow of the Wind and thank you so much for the chance.

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  4. Mary D
    zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

    I don't know if it is required, but I just signed up to follow your blog in Google :)

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  5. rae_sunshine4(at)yahoo.com
    My favorite Gothic writer would be Edgar A Poe, of course. Although Wilkie Collins does a fabulous job at it too. I couldn't pick one book though in particular by those guys.
    I posted this giveaway on my sidebar at twoandahalfbooklovers.blogspot.com
    And I would pick The Shadow of the Wind.

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  6. My favorite gothic novel is definitely The House of the Seven Gables!

    I would love to win Shadow of the Wind.

    saemmerson at yahoo dot com

    Sarah Emmerson

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  7. Going back to my high school days, I'd choose Wuthering Heights.

    For the contest I'd pick Shadow of the Wind.

    wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. My favorite gothic writer is, without a doubt, Edgar Allen Poe.
    I loved The Shadow of the Wind. I would love to win a book that is not that one, as I already have it.

    zedster.tbb(at)gmail(DOT)com

    And it's on my sidebar
    (http://brizmusblogsbooks.blogspot.com)

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  9. My favorite gothic novel would have to be Dracula.
    I would love to win Perfume
    andie.v107(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. My favorite is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I adore it!

    Happy belated birthday btw :D

    I hope I'm lucky enough to win Shadow of the Wind, it sounds amazing and I've heard great things.

    lcintocable{a}gmail{d}com

    I posted on my sidebar here:
    http://tvandbookaddict.blogspot.
    thanks for the chance!

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  11. Ooh! I would want to read THE HISTORIAN

    My e-mail is Squeakybooks@yahoo.com
    My favorite Gothic novel would have to be Jane Eyre or Turn of the Screw

    And I linked you on my blog(www.Squeakybooks.com)! SOrry I'm so late!

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  12. Thanks for the giveaway! And congrats on your blogiversary! I LOVE gothic books. Hmm. Does Dracula count? Or Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde? I LOVE Jane Eyre and The Woman in White. Too hard to choose!

    I'd love to win ANY of these books but if I had to choose, I'd pick The Shadow of the Wind because I really want to read that one. Thanks!

    nycbookgirl at gmail dot com

    Here's my post on Woman in White:
    http://lifeandtimesofanewnewyorker.blogspot.com/2008/06/1001-books-update-woman-in-white.html

    And Jane Eyre:
    http://lifeandtimesofanewnewyorker.blogspot.com/2008/07/1001-book-update-jane-eyre.html

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  13. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and it has good Gothic elements and atmosphere.

    booklogged at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete