A Gothic Satire to Poke Fun at all those Morbid Romantic Novels “He had some taste for romance reading before he went to the university, where, we must confess, in justice to his college, he was cured of the love of reading in all its shapes; and the cure would have been radical, if disappointment in love, and total solitude, had not conspired to bring on a relapse.” ― Thomas Love Peacock, Nightmare Abbey In Thomas Love Peacock's Nightmare Abbey, a morose widower lives with his adult son who is recovering from a failed love affair. If you love gothic novels, or are tired of melancholy heroes and heroines, Nightmare Abbey will be a fun treat.