In The Seven Rings, Roberts weaves together the conventions of three distinct literary genres: gothic fiction, supernatural fantasy, and contemporary romance. The novel’s foundation is gothic fiction, a tradition dating back to Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764), often lauded as the first gothic novel. Other classic examples include The Mysteries of Udolfo by Ann Radcliffe, Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, each of which marry elements of mystery, terror, and the supernatural, often centered on a decaying or haunted architectural space. The New York Times notes that “When the genre emerged in the mid-18th century, early novels and short stories shared a set of common trademarks […] and were laden with the social, political and moral anxieties of a rapidly changing moment in European society” (Hughes, Emily C. “Gothic Fiction Starter Park: Books to Read to Understand Modern Horror.” Nytimes.com, The New York Times, 30 Oct. 2025).

Contemporary romance and fantasy novels often incorporate elements of gothic literature to raise the narrative stakes and increase dramatic tension. The ability of the gothic to tap into humanity’s deepest fears ensures that its “hallmarks can be found throughout modern horror” (Hughes). In the Lost Bride trilogy, Roberts gives her story a gothic setting—Poole Manor, a grand house built on the “rocky, sea-lashed coast of Maine” (3), drawing on the region’s distinct geography and maritime history to create a sense of enduring gloom and supernatural dread. This environment has long been a feature of American gothic literature, most famously in the works of Stephen King, who frequently uses Maine’s remote towns and harsh climate to cultivate suspense and horror. The region’s history is steeped in maritime lore, including a prosperous shipbuilding industry—the source of the Poole family’s fortune—and the accompanying tragedies of shipwrecks and sailors lost at sea. Roberts also layers in elements of supernatural fantasy—the manor’s dark history, family curse, spectral inhabitants, and Sonya’s quest for powerful objects—integrating magical phenomena into a realistic world.

The trilogy’s final installment is grounded in contemporary romance, a genre defined by its focus on developing love stories that culminate in an emotionally satisfying resolution. The central relationships between Sonya and Trey, and Cleo and Owen, provide an emotional core that contrasts with the supernatural conflict, rooting the fantastical plot in human connection and the hope for a happy future. The gothic setting creates life and death stakes around the happily ever after ending of a traditional romance. This blending of genres allows Roberts to explore themes of love, legacy, and evil through multiple literary lenses.