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Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Jacqueline Howard
ISBN13: 9780140437591
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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With The Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe raised the Gothic romance to a new level and inspired a long line of imitators. Portraying her heroine's inner life, creating a thick atmosphere of fear, and providing a gripping plot that continues to thrill readers today, The Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of orphan Emily St. Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the medieval castle of her aunt's new husband, Montoni. Inside the castle, she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montoni's threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors that threaten to overwhelm her.
This new edition includes an introduction that discusses the publication and early reception of the novel, the genre of Gothic romance, and Radcliffe's use of history, exotic settings, the supernatural, and poetry.
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Unusually revolting sentimentality |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
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"I believe that memory is responsible for nearly all these three-volume novels"
-Oscar Wilde
One thing I will say for this book is that it made Oscar Wilde's plays even more entertaining for me. I now know what he was talking about when he trashes books of "unusually revolting sentimentality." And what he says is very true. I am absolutely certain that Ann Radcliffe wrote this book as a sort of extended journal for her travels. At least half of it is devoted to scenery descriptions. Now this is not a bad thing in itself. I read "classics" all the time and I understand/appreciate that books tended to be more long winded due to the limited amounts of solo activities available at the time. But this is ridiculous.
I should point out that the full title of this book is "The Mysteries of Udolpho, A Romance; interspersed with some pieces of poetry by Ann Radcliffe." SOME pieces?!? Give me a break. She throws in her poetry every chance she gets. Her prose is neither creative or inspired. Every single verse is cheesy, lacking good poetic structure and ALWAYS about nature. This quickly gets redundant and I found myself skipping over her longer ones which can last for pages.
I have seen a few of these reviewers compare this book as the predecessor to Jane Austen. I beg to differ. I have read every single one of Jane Austen's books and these authors are separated by one very crucial fact: Jane Austen is a good writer and Ann Radcliffe is not. Radcliffe's writing style is extremely difficult to follow. Commas seem to be a critical plot point with her. Any kind of sentence and/or dialogue will read something like this:
"Emily, called, as she had requested, at an early hour, awoke, little refreshed by sleep, for uneasy dreams had pursued her, and marred the kindest blessing of the unhappy, but, when she opened her casement, looked out upon the woods, bright with the morning sun, and inspired the pure air, her mind was soothed."
Yes, that is all one sentence. I am almost positive that I've heard William Shatner talk more fluidly.
Despite all my griping about this book, I think the thing that annoyed me the most was that I really just didn't care about Emily. She struck me as very spoiled and sheltered. She cries nonstop and is constantly wallowing in self pity. In reality, none of the characters (not even her "evil" uncle) really abuse her. They are strict and worldly, nothing more. In one especially nauseating scene she is driving in a carriage with her aunt and uncle, wallowing in self pity as usual, and sees some peasants playing instruments. She then thinks to herself how lovely it would be to be a peasant because then she could spend the whole day doing whatever she wanted and not be controlled by an evil aunt and uncle. Umm... what?!? Last time I checked, peasants did NOT live a charmed life.
In contrast to Emily and Valancourt, I found myself actually liking her "evil" stepuncle, Montoni. He was pretty much the only character with ANY kind of common sense.
To sum up, save yourself a painful +/- 700 page read. If you want a cute and light romance I suggest checking out books by Georgette Heyer. Or go to the Bronte sisters if you want something more Gothic and substantial.
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| Impossible to read |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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I wish I could have read this book. The type was so tiny I couldn't read any of it.
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| Ahead of her Time! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Ann Radcliffe was truly ahead of her time. She was rumored to be an inspiration for Jane Austen and other female novelists of the time. No one will ever measure up to Mrs Radcliffe who followed her dream against what society deemed "appropriate".
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| Like a long and complex dream ... |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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After having read the mere 176-page original gothic tale of 1764, Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto", I embarked on this 672-page equally-famous gothic fantasy by Ann Radcliffe, published thirty years later, and a best-selling literary phenomenon of its day.
The opening of Terry Castle's incisive introduction to the work notes that, "Perhaps no work in the history of English fiction has been more often caricatured." It is supposed to be "the greatest (or at least the most famous) of gothic romances ... has an archetypal `gothic villain' ... is loaded with exotic scenery ... [and] its heroine, a victim of `sensibility', faints a lot." But whilst common opinion may see it as "a bit of a `silly' book too", the conscientious reader must actually "feel a twinge of bad faith"; Udolpho is actually "bigger, baggier and more uncanny than one thought it was." This is so true.
Whilst not denying a strong gothic element in the writing, the book is also a travelogue, a morality tale, a commentary on manners, and even a comedy of errors; just like Shakespeare, the servants provide a focus for humour, and Radcliffe is not even averse to parody herself as well as the tale she tells. Indeed, one can even view the novel as a typical Jane Austen romance - a woman, her marriage options, and the descent of landed property feature heavily in the plot - but this time set on the continent and in a gothic milieu; Jane Austen even drew on some of the scenes for her `Northanger Abbey' of 1818. But Terry Castle draws attention to the title of the novel, namely the `mysteries' of Udolpho. Thus one can add to the long list of genres set out above, even that of an Agatha Christie murder-mystery, a product of the new age of enlightenment when old-style superstitious mystery was replaced by its more reasoned newcomer, although "Radcliffe's supposedly `rational' explanations are at times almost more implausible than the supernatural explanations they are meant to displace."
Whilst the consensus about the book's merits might be overwhelmingly negative - "too long, feeble in characterisation ... lacking in moral or intellectual gravitas ... [and] full of absurdities" - a closer examination reveals "a meticulous stylist ... who can create moments of considerable drama". Indeed, the style of writing is worthy of remark. The book is full of long sentences, often beautifully constructed. The book must be read at a stately pace to accord with the natural breath of the author's rhythm. Did she speak in this way, or are the construction of sentences designed so as to be read aloud within family groups as they sat before the fire on cold, dark, late-eighteenth century evenings? This style can lead to artifice, and the excessive number of commas can be exasperating on occasions.
There are whole chapters of descriptive prose about the sublime effects of the natural landscape. These are of more value than mere curiosity; the author writes very well with a sharp eye for detail. Terry Castle sagely compares her prose in this regard to the landscapes paintings of Salvatore Rosa, Poussin and Claude Lorraine that Radcliffe admired. This is all the more amazing, as she never visited the places she describes in such detail, but sees them through the eyes of fancy. Actually, she saw them through the eyes of the likes of Tobias Smollett and Hester Thrale Piozzi whose travel books she greatly relied upon. Geographically, the novel forms an arc: volume one is set in Gascony and Languedoc; volume two in Venice and Udolpho; volume three in Udolpho and Tuscany; and volume four back in Gascony and Languedoc.
Ostensibly set in the year 1584, the book is imbued with the manners and sensibilities of genteel England of 1794. For this reason, I found it convenient to forego imagining a strict rendition of time and place. Whilst the number of precise factual anachronisms is small, they are nevertheless difficult to ignore; they include such items as coffee drinking, the names of English poets, the use of knives and forks, the wearing by ladies of certain hats, and the naming of rooms as `saloons'. Moreover, the description afforded to the city of Venice is more akin to the 1780s, or what Terry Castle in her introduction describes as "the elegant Venice of Canaletto and Goldoni", rather than that of the 1580s and the city of Tintoretto and Monteverdi.
There is very little character development. Indeed, there is very little character at all, since the novel revolves almost entirely around our heroine Emily. People come into her life and then leave only when they have some part to play in Emily's story. Even her dog, who appears to be her constant companion in all her travels, appears a mere two or three occasions in order to heighten tension or play a minor part in Emily's experiences: on his second appearance, as our heroine seeks to escape from the castle in which she is held, the dog's yapping threatens to disclose her position, but I had by then even forgotten the dog's very existence, so notably absent had his presence become.
So, what is this novel to be? A gothic romance? Travelogue? Morality tale? Commentary on manners or comedy of errors? Or enlightenment mystery? Why, all of the above, of course. But in a twist of blazing insight, perhaps Terry Castle is right to recommend this book for 21st century readers as a precursor of Freud's work on the unconscious, for "like a long and complex dream - the kind in which pleasure and apprehension are so closely intermingled as to become indistinguishable - the book repays imaginative introspection." When Radcliffe writes halfway through her novel that, the heroine "blamed herself for suffering her romantic imagination to carry her so far beyond the bounds of probability, and determined to endeavour to check its rapid flights, lest they should sometimes extend into madness", she is warning the incautious reader too.
The usual high standards of the Oxford University Press's World's Classics editions are upheld in this volume. Not only the introduction, but also the standard textual note, select bibliography, chronology and end-notes all appear to guide and enhance the experience. As with all reprints of classic works of literature, I recommend that the so-called introduction (which is really more of a commentary) is best read after the novel.
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| The Mysteries of Udolpho: real and imagined |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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On one level, this novel defies categorisation. Yes, the Gothic web of mystery and intrigue is obvious. And so too are the beautiful descriptions of nature, the struggle between good and evil, the noble acts of heroism and the ignoble acts of greed.
Anne Radcliffe has taken all of these components and distilled an imaginative creation that still, some 213 years after publication, catches the imagination of the reader. If you do choose to read this glorious novel, make sure that you are prepared for a pace which relies more on descriptive prose and less on implied actions. Set aside the time to immerse yourself in the setting and enjoy the journey.
This is not a novel to be rushed, it is a novel to be savoured.
Ann Radcliffe was 30 years old the year this novel was published. What an accomplished and imaginative young woman she must have been.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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