Product Description

`Her present life appeared like the dream of a distempered imagination, or like one of those frightful fictions, in which the wild genius of the poets sometimes delighted. Rreflections brought only regret, and anticipation terror.' Such is the state of mind in which Emily St. Aubuert - the orphaned heroine of Ann Radcliffe's 1794 gothic Classic, The Mysteries of Udolpho - finds herself after Count Montoni, her evil guardian, imprisions her in his gloomy medieval fortress in the Appenines. Terror is the order of the day inside the walls of Udolpho, as Emily struggles against Montoni's rapacious schemes and the threat of her own psychological disintegration. A best-seller in its day and a potent influence on Walpole, Poe, and other writers of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Gothic horror, The Mysteries of Udolpho remains one of the most important works in the history of European fiction. As the same time, with its dream-like plot and hallucinatory rendering of its characters' psychological states, it often seems strangely modern: `permanently avant-garde' in Terry Castle's words, and a profound and fascinating challenge to contemporary readers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34063 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 736 pages

About the Author
Terry Castle is Professor of English at Stanford University.

Customer Reviews

The gothic tradition and more.
Characters,particularly female ones, tend to be rather flat and anaemic. Radcliffe concentrates on powerful male figures, the dark menace of Montoni or the benevolent paternity of St. Aubert and the Count de Villefois. Descriptions of France and Italy are painterly and will have you rushing to book a flight to the Languedoc or somewhere near the Appenines. It could be said, perhaps, that the landscapes are the real protagonists in the tale. Radcliffe skilfully ties up all the lose threads but the explanations given of supernatural events are highly improbable. Pivotal theme of the work could be said to be 'Fortitude' and how Emily, the heroine,finds and develops this quality in herself. Worth reading,not only because it is regarded as the seminal gothic novel, but because it was instrumental in raising the status of novel writing in the eyes of the literary establishment. This enabled female novel writers to gain credibility and acceptance whereas until this point,poetry writing,predominantly the province of men,was seen as weightier and cerebral in comparison to the trifling shallowness of novels.

Just plain good fun!
I came to this book after reading about it in Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', which I suspect is why many enquirers are now reading this! I really enjoyed it and, although some of the other reviewers' negative comments are at least partly justified, I'd say, if you're not afraid of long novels, give it a go, it's just good fun.

By 21st century standards of horror, this story is tame and childish, but if you're like me and don't appreciate the excesses of modern horror and supernatural/occult things, but just enjoy a good read, you'll find this more to your taste. Yeah, sure there are some unbelievable parts, (like Emily's being able to compose whole sonnets on the spot, for one), but fiction like this is not really meant to be convincing. Mrs Radcliffe wrote to entertain the masses, and that's what she achieves. Yes, the desciptions can be a bit tedious at times, but if you read quickly as most of us do when we're 'in to' a novel, they soon pass and you get on with the story.

I esp. liked the fact that all the mysteries are explained in the end which saves you from having to go through the dissatisfying experience of wanting to know exactly what happened back there when 'x' did 'y' and so on, but never being told. (I sometimes wonder if some authors couldn't think of anything convincing with which to tie up their loose ends!!)

Have fun!=)

Literary Perfection
I fear I don't have the words to fully explain just how important, enjoyable, and breath-taking this novel is to me; The Mysteries of Udolpho is simply one of the greatest written works ever produced. While this is a Gothic novel, arguably the greatest Gothic novel ever written, it is so much more than that. "Gothic" denotes dark castles, spectral haunts, dastardly deeds performed by cruel, mysterious men--certainly these elements are here. However, a large portion of this novel is simply beautiful--no one I know of has ever described the simple grandeur of life and nature or waxed more poetically on the noble merits of love and honor as does Ann Radcliffe.

Emily is one of the most memorable characters in all of fiction. To be frank, I simply fell in love with her. Through her, I was able to not only see but to better appreciate life itself and the simple beauties it manifests. When she was hurt or pained, I shared her sorrow; many times, I felt compelled to jump up and somehow defend her against the monstrous injustices inflicted upon her. I admired her morality and deep commitment to honor, a commitment so deep that she sacrificed in deference to it her own deep love for Valancourt, a love so deep that it alone allowed her to withstand the horrors of Count Montoni and the castle of Udolpho. Certainly, Emily is very sensitive and overdramatic, and she does tend to faint a lot, but she is a pure angel to someone like myself who is a Victorian at heart.

The Gothic horror is very well done, but it does not take up nearly as much of the novel as I had anticipated. Radcliffe can bring chills to readers even today. The description of someone's silent entry by night into Emily's room is spine-tingling, as are the descriptions of Emily's reluctant journeys down to the catacombs beneath the castle. The wide-eyed Annette's rambling descriptions of supernatural manifestations feed Emily's and the reader's own fears. Emily escapes from the nefarious castle about two-thirds of the way through the novel, but a number of strange events at Chateau-le-Blanc quickly serve to return the reader to the dark dimensions of fright. At that point, I wondered how so much story could be left to tell, but Radcliffe introduced new characters and new situations as compelling as those that had come before and succeeded in absorbing me even further into this world of her creation. Lady Blanche inspired in me many of the feelings I felt for Emily, and the resulting story not only added much to the experience of this novel but ultimately helped to tie many threads together. The experience of Emily and Annette in the late Countess' room, shut up for 20 years since the lady's mysterious death, was as frightening as any scene that took place inside the walls of Udolpho. I did worry as I neared the final pages that Radcliffe would not successfully explain everything that had taken place or would leave some loose ends dangling--the only thing I was left wondering, however, was what happened to the dog Emily took with her to Udolpho after she escaped.

I wish I could mention all of the wonderful characters and all of the scenes and events, both beautiful and horrific, to be found in these pages. These were times when I literally had to put one hand across the page to keep from jumping ahead to see what was about to happen. I do want to stress the beauty and romance of the novel because these aspects are overshadowed by the perception people have of Gothic literature. The story of Emily and Valancourt is one of the greatest love stories in literature. Future readers, please don't pick the novel up until such a time as you are truly committed to reading it; it is rather long, and this is not a novel you will want to lay aside for several days at a time. Also, the first 100 pages or so are somewhat hard to get through. Radcliffe paints a living portrait of nature in these pages, describing more details than I could ever even hope to witness. You won't encounter the Gothic horror you may be expecting until you get rather deeply into the story, so keep that in mind. Approach this novel as you would a work of art because that is exactly what it is.