Sometimes, when I read the chapter titles in texts of the Gothic Fiction type, I feel as if the whole story is almost- but not quite- told right there; the chapter titles are so evocative, so detailed, and so mystery-making that I am sometimes disappointed by the actual texts, because they don’t live up to the promise- the endless promise- of the story told in the chapter titles. And sometimes, while TOC and text are both excellent, they seem to tell completely different stories. That is, the story that the TOC evokes in the mind of the reader is frequently not at all the story contained within the text.
I think this is really neat.
That is my thesis at the moment: this stuff is neat.
In the hope that you will share in my enthusiasm for the stories half-told in TOCs, especially TOCs associated with novels that can loosely be described as “Gothic,” here is a small batch of evocative, provocative, intriguing, baffling TOCs.
Richard Marsh, The Beetle (1897)
For example: The Beetle (1897), by Richard Marsh. Here is the table of contents; click on the arrow or the title to see it. No, really. It is worthwhile.
BOOK I
The House with the Open Window
CHAPTER I, OUTSIDE
CHAPTER II, INSIDE
CHAPTER III, THE MAN IN THE BED
CHAPTER IV, A LONELY VIGIL
CHAPTER V, AN INSTRUCTION TO COMMIT BURGLARY
CHAPTER VI, A SINGULAR FELONY
CHAPTER VII, THE GREAT PAUL LESSINGHAM
CHAPTER VIII, THE MAN IN THE STREET
CHAPTER IX, THE CONTENTS OF THE PACKET
BOOK II
The Haunted Man
CHAPTER X, REJECTED
CHAPTER XI, A MIDNIGHT EPISODE
CHAPTER XII, A MORNING VISITOR
CHAPTER XIII, THE PICTURE
CHAPTER XIV, THE DUCHESS’ BALL
CHAPTER XV, MR LESSINGHAM SPEAKS
CHAPTER XVI, ATHERTON’S MAGIC VAPOUR
CHAPTER XVII, MAGIC?—OR MIRACLE?
CHAPTER XVIII, THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE BEETLE
CHAPTER XIX, THE LADY RAGES
CHAPTER XX, A HEAVY FATHER
CHAPTER XXI, THE TERROR IN THE NIGHT
CHAPTER XXII, THE HAUNTED MAN
BOOK III
The Terror By Night and the Terror by Day
CHAPTER XXIII, THE WAY HE TOLD HER
CHAPTER XXIV, A WOMAN’S VIEW
CHAPTER XXV, THE MAN IN THE STREET
CHAPTER XXVI, A FATHER’S NO
CHAPTER XXVII, THE TERROR BY NIGHT
CHAPTER XXVIII, THE STRANGE STORY OF THE MAN IN THE STREET
CHAPTER XXIX, THE HOUSE ON THE ROAD FROM THE WORKHOUSE
CHAPTER XXX, THE SINGULAR BEHAVIOUR OF MR HOLT
CHAPTER XXXI, THE TERROR BY DAY
BOOK IV
In Pursuit
CHAPTER XXXII, A NEW CLIENT
CHAPTER XXXIII, WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE
CHAPTER XXXIV, AFTER TWENTY YEARS
CHAPTER XXXV, A BRINGER OF TIDINGS
CHAPTER XXXVI, WHAT THE TIDINGS WERE
CHAPTER XXXVII, WHAT WAS HIDDEN UNDER THE FLOOR
CHAPTER XXXVIII, THE REST OF THE FIND
CHAPTER XXXIX, MISS LOUISA COLEMAN
CHAPTER XL, WHAT MISS COLEMAN SAW THROUGH THE WINDOW
CHAPTER XLI, THE CONSTABLE,—HIS CLUE,—AND THE CAB
CHAPTER XLII, THE QUARRY DOUBLES
CHAPTER XLIII, THE MURDER AT MRS ‘ENDERSON’S
CHAPTER XLIV, THE MAN WHO WAS MURDERED
CHAPTER XLV, ALL THAT MRS ‘ENDERSON KNEW
CHAPTER XLVI, THE SUDDEN STOPPING
CHAPTER XLVII, THE CONTENTS OF THE THIRD-CLASS CARRIAGE
CHAPTER XLVIII, THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER
If I remember correctly, I heartily enjoyed The Beetle, but I have a taste for extravagance and I would not, I think, be wise in actually recommending the book to the unwary. I mean, I had a blast, but there are ways in which The Beetle is like the worst book ever.
Here is a review which tells you why the book is awful and yet, to a certain type of reader (me, for example), oddly, hypnotically compelling:
“A Creature Born Neither of God nor Man”: Richard Marsh, The Beetle: A Mystery
…Right. So there’s that. Anyway, DID YOU READ THOSE CHAPTER HEADINGS? They are so very mysterious, exciting, etc. In fact, they are the best marketing tool I’ve ever seen. If I were trying to decide whether or not to purchase a book, and if I then flipped the book open and cast my eye upon that table of contents, I’d probably decide to buy it, if only because it would aggravate me not to know what actually happens in the damn thing.
J. Sheridan Le Fanu, The Room in the Dragon Volant (1872)
I couldn’t quite make it through this text to the end, so I’ve never found out about the Catastrophe that the last chapter promises.
Chapter I. ON THE ROAD
Chapter II. THE INN-YARD OF THE BELLE ÉTOILE
Chapter III. DEATH AND LOVE TOGETHER MATED
Chapter IV. MONSIEUR DROQVILLE
Chapter V. SUPPER AT THE BELLE ÉTOILE
Chapter VI. THE NAKED SWORD
Chapter VII. THE WHITE ROSE
Chapter VIII. A THREE MINUTES’ VISIT
Chapter IX. GOSSIP AND COUNSEL
Chapter X. THE BLACK VEIL
Chapter XI. THE DRAGON VOLANT
Chapter XII. THE MAGICIAN
Chapter XIII. THE ORACLE TELLS ME WONDERS
Chapter XIV. MADEMOISELLE DE LA VALLIÈRE
Chapter XV. STRANGE STORY OF THE DRAGON VOLANT
Chapter XVI. THE PARC OF THE CHÂTEAU DE LA CARQUE
Chapter XVII. THE TENANT OF THE PALANQUIN
Chapter XVIII. THE CHURCHYARD
Chapter XIX. THE KEY
Chapter XX. A HIGH-CAULD-CAP
Chapter XXI. I SEE THREE MEN IN A MIRROR
Chapter XXII. RAPTURE
Chapter XXIII. A CUP OF COFFEE
Chapter XXIV. HOPE
Chapter XXV. DESPAIR
Chapter XXVI. CATASTROPHE
I like the last five chapter titles best here. I like the way it progresses from Rapture to Catastrophe and stops for coffee on the way.
Anna Katharine Green, The House of the Whispering Pines (1910)
Green’s writing may or may not be, strictly speaking, Gothic. I would say that much of her writing is in the Gothic tradition, but she tends to be classified as a mystery writer in the Courtroom Drama sub-genre, which is certainly correct. I mean, she writes mysteries, and she frequently includes an Inquest and/or a Trial. These can extend over multiple chapters and are very tiresome indeed. Having said that, I should also say, perhaps, that Anna Katharine Green’s novels are always worth a try; some of them are great. Like this one.
Here is the TOC:
CONTENTS
BOOK I
SMOKE
I.--THE HESITATING STEP
II.--IT WAS SHE--SHE INDEED!
III.--"OPEN!"
IV.--THE ODD CANDLESTICK
V.--A SCRAP OF PAPER
VI.--COMMENTS AND REFLECTIONS
VII.--CLIFTON ACCEPTS MY CASE
VIII.--A CHANCE! I TAKE IT
BOOK II
SWEETWATER TO THE FRONT
IX.--"WE KNOW OF No SUCH LETTER"
X.--"I CAN HELP YOU"
XI.--IN THE COACH HOUSE
XII.--"LILA--LILA!"
XIII.--"WHAT WE WANT IS HERE"
XIV.--THE MOTIONLESS FIGURE
XV.--HELEN SURPRISES SWEETWATER
XVI.--62 CUTHBERT ROAD
XVII.--"MUST I TELL THESE THINGS?"
XVIII.--ON IT WAS WRITTEN--
XIX.--"IT'S NOT WHAT YOU WILL FIND"
BOOK III
HIDDEN SURPRISES
XX.---"HE OR YOU! THERE IS NO THIRD"
XXI.--CARMEL AWAKES
XXII.---"BREAK IN THE GLASS!"
XXIII.--AT TEN INSTEAD OF TWELVE
XXIV.--ALL THIS STOOD
XXV.--"I AM INNOCENT"
XXVI.--THE SYLLABLE OF DOOM
XXVII.--EXPECTANCY
XXVIII.--"WHERE Is MY BROTHER?"
BOOK IV
WHAT THE PINES WHISPERED
XXIX.--"I REMEMBERED THE ROOM"
XXX.--"CHOOSE"
XXXI.--"WERE HER HANDS CROSSED THEN?"
XXXII.--AND I HAD SAID NOTHING!
XXXIII.--THE ARROW OF DEATH
XXXIV.--"STEADY!"
XXXV.--"As IF IT WERE A MECCA"
XXXVI.--THE SURCHARGED MOMENT
