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 his deceased wife), Catherine learns about the true dimensions of reality and becomes the real heroine of the story. James Morland: Catherine's older brother who spends his time studying at Oxford University in the beginning of the novel, but makes a surprise visit to the city of Bath to see his sister and parents. He is similar to Catherine in that he is humble, sweet, and fun-loving; however, his downfall is that he is not the best judge of character, and he is both naive and innocent when it comes to matters of the heart. This is evident during his