The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest is a Gothic novel by Ludwig Flammenberg (which is a pseudonym for Carl Friedrich Kahlert) first published in 1794. It is one of the seven 'horrid novels' lampooned by Jane Austen in "Northanger Abbey", once thought not to exist except in the text of "Northanger Abbey". The novel consists of a series of lurid tales of hauntings, violence, killings and the supernatural featuring the adventures of Hermann and Helfried and the mysterious wizard Volkert the Necromancer, who has seemingly come back from
Northanger Abbey (2007 film) the dastardly deeds at Northanger Abbey," but the audience knew it was about as scary as "a ninja turtle." Ritchie likened the ITV Austen adaptations to a "Posh Country "Home and Away"." Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote ""Northanger Abbey" the novel was as fun as it gets for Austen, and the television film quite lives up to the same standard." Ginia Bellafante, a critic for "The New York Times", proclaimed the drama gave the audience "innocent faces and heaving breasts, hyperbolizing the sex that always lurks beneath the surface of Austen's astringent presence." She went on to