Background
Ann Radcliffe was born in London, England on July 9, 1764. Daughter of William Ward and Ann Oates. Radcliffe occasionally lived with her Uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea.
(d some dissatisfaction; but the beauty and seeming innoce...)
d some dissatisfaction; but the beauty and seeming innocence of Adeline, united with the pleadings of humanity in her favour, and he determined to protect her. The tumult of emotions which had passed in the bosom of Adeline, began now to subside; terror was softened into anxiety, and despair into grief. The sympathy so evident in the manners of her companions, particularly in those of Madame La Motte, soothed her heart and encouraged her to hope for better days. Dismally and silently the night passed on, for the minds of the travellers were too much occupied by their several sufferings to admit of conversation. The dawn, so anxiously watched for at length appeared, and introduced the strangers more fully to each other. Adeline derived comfort from the looks of Madame La Motte, who gazed frequently and attentively at her, and thought she had seldom seen a countenance so interesting, or a form so striking. The languor of sorrow threw a melancholy grace upon her features, that appealed immediately to the
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(In A Sicilian Romance (1790) Ann Radcliffe began to forge...)
In A Sicilian Romance (1790) Ann Radcliffe began to forge the unique mixture of the psychology of terror and poetic description that would make her the great exemplar of the Gothic novel, and the idol of the Romantics. This early novel explores the cavernous landscapes and labyrinthine passages of Sicily's castles and convents to reveal the shameful secrets of its all-powerful aristocracy. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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(This edition contains the first volume of The Mysteries o...)
This edition contains the first volume of The Mysteries of Udolpho, together with the poetry and verse which makes the story so unique and treasured. Unusual for interspersing poems from previous centuries throughout its pages, The Mysteries of Udolpho is a novel in four volumes which follows the adventures of Emily St. Aubert and her father as they travel south from their native Gascony, through the Pyrenees mountains, and onto the idyllic Mediterranean coastal region of Roussillon. Throughout the journey young Emily is inspired by the mountain peaks, comparing the heights with many of the poems with which she is familiar. Encountering a handsome young nobleman named Sue Valancourt Brown, who possesses an uncanny affinity to nature and the natural world, Emily quickly falls for him. However, her chances of marriage are spoiled when her father succumbs to a long illness - back in France, her aunt has married an apparently Italian noble named Montoni who treats both her and Emily with only cruel disregard in the gloomy keep of Udolpho. The Mysteries of Udolpho is a bounding work in which aesthetics, romance and gothic literature intertwine. In addition, the book's frequent quoting of verse lends a cultured and lyrical element, conferring further meaning to the drama as it unfolds. Owing to its eclecticism, the work has been much read and referenced in literary circles. First published in 1794, the novel may be considered both as a fine story in its own right, and as a celebration of the literary poets of the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. It was also famously the target of a satire by Jane Austen, in her book Northanger Abbey.
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Ann Radcliffe was born in London, England on July 9, 1764. Daughter of William Ward and Ann Oates. Radcliffe occasionally lived with her Uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea.
Few details survive about Radcliffe's formal schooling, though she knew some Latin and appeared to have been quite well-read.
Radcliffe's fiction is marked by seemingly supernatural events that are then provided with rational explanations. Her novels are caracterized by a suspenseful mixture of romance and horror, the Gothic story unusually centered on an innocent, persecuted heroine threatened by a dark-haired, fierce villain who owns a ghost-haunted or otherwise mystery-steeped castle. Throughout her work, traditional moral values are asserted, the rights of women are advocated, and reason prevails.
Radcliffe published six novels and a book of poetry. She also wrote a work about an excursion to the Continent, A Journey Made in the Summer of 1794, through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany. .. To Which Are Added Observations of a Tour to the Lakes (1795).
Radcliffe was a shy writer, uncomfortable with literary acclaim, and had a naturally reclusive personality.
The Italian (1797) has made Radcliffe the highest paid professional writer of the 1790s.
In 1797, at the height of her popularity, she retired from writing, and her next published novel, Gaston de Blondeville (1826), was posthumous.
(In A Sicilian Romance (1790) Ann Radcliffe began to forge...)
(d some dissatisfaction; but the beauty and seeming innoce...)
(This edition contains the first volume of The Mysteries o...)
Quotations:
"One act of beneficence, one act of real usefulness, is worth all the abstract sentiment in the world. "
"I never trust people's assertions, I always judge of them by their actions. "
"How strange it is, that a fool or knave, with riches, should be treated with more respect by the world, than a good man, or a wise man in poverty!"
"Such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to suspicion, however unreasonable; always requiring new assurances from the object of its interest. "
"He loved the soothing hour, when the last tints of light die away; when the stars, one by one, tremble through æther, and are reflected on the dark mirror of the waters; that hour, which, of all others, inspires the mind with pensive tenderness, and often elevates it to sublime contemplation. "
Quotes from others about the person
In 1823, the year of her death, the Edinburgh Review, said: "She never appeared in public, nor mingled in private society, but kept herself apart, like the sweet bird that sings its solitary notes, shrouded and unseen. "
According to Ruth Facer, "Physically, she was said to be 'exquisitely proportioned' – quite short, complexion beautiful 'as was her whole countenance, especially her eyes, eyebrows and mouth. "
In 1787, she married the Oxford graduate and journalist William Radcliffe, part-owner and editor of the English Chronicle. He often came home late, and to occupy her time she began to write, and read her work to him when he returned. Theirs was a childless, but seemingly happy, marriage. Radcliffe called him her "nearest relative and friend.