The Mysteries of Udolpho: Part II

by Ann Radcliffe

The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe, was published in four volumes on 8 May 1794 by G. G. and J. Robinson of London. The firm paid her 500 for the manuscript. The contract is housed at the University of Virginia Library. Her fourth and most popular novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho follows the fortunes of Emily St. Aubert, who suffers, among other misadventures, the death of her father, supernatural terrors in a gloomy castle and the machinations of an Italian brigand. Often cited as the archetypal Gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho, along with Radcliffe's novel The Romance of the Forest, plays a prominent role in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey, in which an impressionable young woman, after reading Radcliffe's novel, comes to see her friends and acquaintances as Gothic villains and victims with amusing results. The Mysteries of Udolpho is a quintessential Gothic romance, replete with incidents of physical and psychological terror; remote, crumbling castles; seemingly supernatural events; a brooding, scheming villain; and a persecuted heroine. Modern editors point out that only about one-third of the novel is set in the eponymous Gothic castle, and that the tone and style vary markedly between sections of the work. Radcliffe also added extensive descriptions of exotic landscapes in the Pyrenees and Apennines, and of Venice, none of which she visited and for details of which she relied on contemporary travel books, leading to the introduction of several anachronisms. Set in 1584 in southern France and northern Italy, the novel focuses on the plight of Emily St. Aubert, a young French woman who is orphaned after the death of her father. Emily suffers imprisonment in the castle Udolpho at the hands of Signor Montoni, an Italian brigand who has married her aunt and guardian Madame Cheron. Emily's romance with the dashing Valancourt is frustrated by Montoni and others. Emily also investigates the mysterious relationship between her father and the Marchioness de Villeroi, and its connection to the castle at Udolpho.

Genres: Classics, Horror, Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1794

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

[Juliana Lira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good end, but I wished Ann Radcliffe had left something more for the imagination and not all the mysteries solved (mainly those related to Udolpho). It was not bad; all the rational explanation was nice to know but at the same time it lost the appeal of suspense and terror that followed through all the novel.

I'm trying to imagine what was the reaction of a young Jane Austen while reading the novel. I guess my re-reading of Northanger Abbey will be very interesting (and funnier!)

[Annika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wer gerne Jane Austen liest und noch ein bisschen Grusel dazu haben möchte, ist genau richtig!
Anfangs wegen der sehr alten Rechtschreibung gewöhnungsbedürftig, aber man kommt irgendwann rein und dann lässt es einen nicht mehr raus

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot thickens! Still, much sobbing and weeping, and now some fainting...but now that most of the characters are ensconced, trapped, or imprisoned at Castle Udolpho, the action is picking up. It’s so bad it’s good; I’m actually looking forward to continuing on to Volume III.

[Osmar Weyh · Rating 1 out of 5]

A história continua com os sofrimentos de Emily, mas agora, regressando ao Castelo de Lê Blanc na França. Ocorre várias revelações, como o passado da Signora Laurentino, como uma das freiras do mosteiro de Santa Clara e não mais como um fantasma, como se cogitava. Bem como os crimes que ela cometeu e seu purgatório nos últimos dias de vida. Emily descobre que na verdade a marquesa de Villeroi não era amante de seu tia, mas sim irmã dele, sua tia, tendo uma morte terrível por envenenamento. O tão esperado reencontro com o Valacourt, por quem tanto chorou e esperou, foi arruinado pelo vício em jogos dele, que arruinou o futuro e o amor deles, e mesmo assim, ela ainda o perdoa no fim, mesmo tendo pretendentes melhores. No fim, herda dinheiro tanto da sua tia, como da amante do seu tio e os castelos que tanto odiou. Mas resumidamente, todas as tramas e fantasmas, no fim, eram embustes e enganações, tudo só passou de um grande imaginário da protagonista da história, que sua relutância em sofrência em dois enormes livros (inútil na minha oportunidade), foram e como é, uma grande perda de tempo. Em resumo, ótimo livro para passar raiva ou sono.