The Black Forest
Author: Unknown; Publication: 1802
In this deceivingly short story—borrowed almost entirely from “The Cavern of Death” and with a complicated publication history—love, secrets, mystery, and murder abound.
Oswick, The Bold Outlaw
Author: Unknown; Publication: 1802
In this tale of violence, manipulation, and deceit, an outlaw attempts to evade capture and his destined fate. Will poetic justice be served or will evil continue to reign?
Manfredi; or, The Mysterious Hermit
Author: Unknown; Publication: c. 1790s
A plagiarism of Sarah Lansdell’s “Manfredi, Baron St. Osmund,” this chapbook features romance, betrayal, and an Italian hermit who is more courageous and honorable than he seems.
Female Intrepidity
Author: Unknown; Publication: c. 1830
In this chapbook set in France and featuring murder and a ghost, several romances revolve around the tensions between Catholics and Protestants.
The Three Ghosts of the Forest
Author: Unknown; Publication: 1803
In this authorless chapbook, jealousy, secrecy, kidnapping, and murder erupt as Orlando pursues romance with Isabella, Octavia, and Adela—three sisters.
Julia St. Pierre
Author: Unknown; Publication: 1842
This novel is commonly mistaken for a 1796 novel with a similar title by Helen Craik, but is actually a short plagiarized adaptation of a 1797 play by J. C. Cross.
The Horrible Revenge
Author: Unknown; Publication: 1828
A tale of violence, vengeance, and forbidden love, this chapbook was almost entirely plagiarized from Eliza Parsons’ 1796 “The Mysterious Warning.”
The Imaginary Adultress
Author: Unknown; Publication: 1808
This novel takes place in thirteenth-century France and includes pirates, slavery, lost children, and the machinations of a very devious husband on an unsuspecting wife.
