The author would like to thank the editors of this special issue for inspiring this article by inviting me to the 2017 ACLA conference in Utrecht, and for their patience with me during the writing process. I am also grateful to the anonymous peer reviewers for their invaluably helpful advice on improving the article. Finally, I want to thank my Exeter colleague and fellow Gothicist Dr Joseph Crawford (English Studies), for spot-on book recommendations (and book loans), as well as stimulating conversation on Hall Caine and Bulwer-Lytton.