Jump to content

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe


poppyshake

Recommended Posts

Has anyone here read this?

 

Austen fans will know that this is the book that so deliciously frightened Catherine Morland in 'Northanger Abbey' and I did try and read it once (quite a few years ago) but never got further than a few chapters .. I just couldn't seem to get the plotline into my head.

 

I would like to know what dreadful thing is behind the black veil so, is it a book worth persevering with?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently researched this as I have been reading through Northanger Abbey where Austen makes several references to it :D

 

aha :lol: .. well, if you read it, let me know what it's like. I think it has a fairly complicated plotline to start .. and because I kept putting the book down for lengths of time I always needed to go back to the start again. After doing this about four times I gave up .. but I had less time then, I think I'd get on better with it now (but the book long ago went to the charity shop :friends0:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had actually made a note of the title to look up and read at a further date, I don't think I will read it soon as I have a lot to read, but if I do, I will revisit this thread!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently researched this as I have been reading through Northanger Abbey where Austen makes several references to it :D

 

I noticed quite a few titles in Waterstone's on Saturday that looked familiar, including this one and The Monk, and I wondered if one of the publishers has decided to reprint some of these gothic novels referenced in Northanger Abbey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I noticed quite a few titles in Waterstone's on Saturday that looked familiar, including this one and The Monk, and I wondered if one of the publishers has decided to reprint some of these gothic novels referenced in Northanger Abbey.

 

Chesil, there is mention of this and the Monk a bit further down the classics page. I think they are being re-published. I came across the Monk when I received my newsletter from Penguin Classics and ordered it on the back of that.

 

I haven't started it yet, plan to do so very soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're not being re-published, they've always been in print. I think what's happened is people are talking about them more so, obviously, more people are hearing about them and every few years a new edition gets released with a new cover. I have the OUP edition of Mysteries Of Udolpho from 1998 but there is a new edition out that was published in 2008 with a different cover. The same happens with The Monk, The Castle Of Otranto and even Northanger Abbey :D

 

And poppyshake, Mysteries Of Udolpho is definitely worth reading - I hope you enjoy it this time round!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

And poppyshake, Mysteries Of Udolpho is definitely worth reading - I hope you enjoy it this time round!

 

Thanks Fi :D ... I'm sure I shall. I hadn't read a lot of classics when I attempted this one (I was punching above my weight definitely), but I've done a lot of reading since then (life is so hard sometimes :D) and I'm sure I can get into it this time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am probably going to read all of the mentioned titles as I am pretty sure they'll be on some of my course units when I start my degree again. I am going to hunt down them one by one and when I have read Udolpho i'll come here and talk about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Fi :D ... I'm sure I shall. I hadn't read a lot of classics when I attempted this one (I was punching above my weight definitely), but I've done a lot of reading since then (life is so hard sometimes :D) and I'm sure I can get into it this time.

 

Looking forward to hearing what you think of it :D And if you do like it, try The Romance Of The Forest - this is my favourite Radcliffe book and the first one of hers that I tried.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking forward to hearing what you think of it :friends0: And if you do like it, try The Romance Of The Forest - this is my favourite Radcliffe book and the first one of hers that I tried.

 

Was that the book Harriet Smith wanted Robert Martin to read?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hasn't Radcliffe also written A Sicilian Romance? I wonder it that one was mentioned in Northanger Abbey? It was at least mentioned by our professor in uni when he was talking about Northanger Abbey and the kind of gothic books that are mentioned in the novel. Has anyone read that one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have A Sicilian Romance but I've never got round to reading it. I read Udolpho, Romance Of The Forest & The Italian all around the same time and sort of Radcliffe'd myself out :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah yes now that you mention it, I do remember there being The Italian as well :lol: I hope you didn't mean that some of the books were awful, just that you'd read so many of them in a row that you felt you needed to be reading something completely different :friends0:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely not awful! I'd read the 3 Radcliffes plus a load of other 'gothic' titles in a very short time span and needed a (big) break - somehow I never got round to reading ASR at all, must rectify that soon :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...