THE CASTLE OF WOLFENBACH is a groundbreaking English Gothic novel, written by Eliza Parsons during the time of the French Revolution. It was one of the seven "horrid novels" recommended by the character Isabella Thorpe in Jane Austen's novel NORTHANGER ABBEY, and predates several well-known Gothic works.

Eliza Parsons (1739-1811) was an English Gothic novelist. Born in Plymouth, Parsons (née Phelp) married at about 21 and had eight children with turpentine distiller James Parsons. Parsons' business took a downturn during the American Revolution and was wiped out by fire a few years later. The loss of several of her children and her husband's declining health in the 1780s and 1790s forced her to turn to writing to support her family. During her 17-year career, Parsons wrote one play and 19 novels, including her most famous, THE CASTLE OF WOLFENBACH.