Uncle Silas – Sheridan Le Fanu

"I knew not what to think. I was bewildered."

Maud Ruthyn, a young heiress, is sent to live with her reclusive Uncle Silas after her father's death. Silas is a former rake suspected of murder, now living as a religious fanatic. As Maud becomes trapped in his gloomy mansion, she realizes that her uncle plans to marry her to his brutal son or kill her to inherit her fortune. The novel builds to a claustrophobic, terrifying climax.

Le Fanu's novel is a premier example of the Victorian 'locked room' mystery and psychological thriller. It creates a suffocating sense of dread and entrapment that influenced the modern suspense novel.