The Mysteries of Udolpho

by Ann Radcliffe

Paperback

Published November 15, 2008

About the author

Ann Ward Radcliffe of Britain wrote Gothic novels, including The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794).

This English author pioneered.

William Radcliffe, her father and a haberdasher, moved the family to Bath to manage a china shop in 1772. Radcliffe occasionally lived with her uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea in partnership with a fellow Unitarian, Josiah Wedgwood. Although mixing in some distinguished circles, Radcliffe seemingly made little impression in this society, and Wedgwood described her as "Bentley's shy niece."

In 1787, she married William Radcliffe, the Oxford graduate and journalist. He often came home late, and to occupy her time, she began to write and read her work when he returned. They enjoyed a childless but seemingly happy marriage. Radcliffe called him her "nearest relative and friend". The money she earned from her novels later allowed them to travel together, along with their dog, Chance.

She published The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne in 1789. It set the tone for the majority of her work, which tended to involve innocent, but heroic young women who find themselves in gloomy, mysterious castles ruled by even more mysterious barons with dark pasts.

Her works were extremely popular among the upper class and the growing middle class, especially among young women. Her works included A Sicilian Romance (1790), The Romance of the Forest (1791), The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), and The Italian (1796). She published a travelogue, A Journey Through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany in 1795.

The success of The Romance of the Forest established Radcliffe as the leading exponent of the historical Gothic romance. Her later novels met with even greater attention, and produced many imitators, and famously, Jane Austen's burlesque of The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey, as well as influencing the works of Sir Walter Scott.

Stylistically, Radcliffe was noted for her vivid descriptions of exotic and sinister locales, though in reality the author had rarely or never visited the actual locations. Shy by nature, she did not encourage her fame and abandoned literature as a pursuit.

She died on February 7, 1823 and was buried in Saint George's Church, Hanover Square, London.

Reviews

[William Isley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read Anne Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho for two reasons. I have a taste for Gothic literature and for literary classics, and the 1794 Udolopho is considered, and justly so I would say, a, maybe, the classic of Gothic literature. I also wanted to read Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, which criticizes Udolpho. Reading Radcliffe’s work would give me a basis for evaluating Austen’s criticisms but also increase my appreciation of Northanger Abbey.
Udolpho tells the story of Emily St. Aubert, a virtuous young French woman who becomes orphaned early in the novel and is put under the care of her aunt, Madame Cheron, a vain and silly woman who marries Signor Montoni, an Italian brigand, and the villain of the story. Montoni imprisons Emily in his Castle Udolpho and seeks to force her to hand over her estates to him.
Radcliffe’s novel contains several typical gothic elements. There are romantic settings of mountains and valleys, a virtuous heroine who is threatened by a villain and possibly supernatural forces and entrapped in a remote crumbling castle.
Modern readers will probably be put off by the lengthy landscape descriptions and a heroine that is always crying, fainting, and spending terror-filled sleepless nights. Yet, I enjoyed the novel. The descriptions are beautifully written and create an atmosphere at some times of sublime grandeur and at other times of dark foreboding danger. Modern readers need to get over their addiction to action and learn to appreciate good prose. At the same time, there are exciting sections of danger and mystery.
I recommend The Mysteries of Udolpho especially to three types of readers. First, the fans of Gothic literature should read this classic because it becomes the model for so many tales of that genre. In particular, it would be helpful for them to learn the important distinction between terror, which is mysterious and can result in awe and the uplifting of the soul, and horror, which explicitly describes cruelty and barbarism and ultimately shrinks the soul. Second, those who are interested in history, particularly of the Enlightenment and Romanticism will discover in the novel discussions about taste and virtue, reason and imagination, and other themes important to the two differing eras and philosophies. Radcliffe’s work represents a transitional period and thus has characteristics of both movements. Finally, Jane Austen fans will better understand and enjoy Northanger Abbey by reading Radcliffe’s novel.
I read the Oxford World’s Classics edition, which has helpful historical and literary footnotes as well as an illuminating introduction by Bonamy Dobrée, who explains the novel’s historical background, comments on Radcliffe’s other novels, and makes clear the important distinction between terror and horror.

[Stephanie Miceli · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Feb-regency, I decided to read the book that inspired Jane Austen to write Northanger Abbey. The story is a great example of gothic fiction complete with your evil villain, innocent heroine, gloomy castles, things that go bump in the night, mystery and murder. Having said that, the story is extremely long and Radcliffes writing is beautiful but very verbose. The story starts slow but picks up a third of the way through and keeps you in suspense with various twist and turns throughout. All in all a very good read.