COVE

Charlotte Riddell was a prominent Victorian author known for her complex and intriguing Gothic storytelling, as well as her ability to weave supernatural elements into critiques of societal anxieties. Her works, including The Open Door, skillfully explored themes of guilt, morality, and the tension between rationality and the unknown, effectively making her a prolific figure in Victorian literature. Her use of ghostly metaphors for both societal and internal struggles, Riddell ultimately enriched the “haunting” literature of the Victorian era.

Elliott & Fry photograph, 1875