Novelist. Famed for her Gothic tales of terror and romance, she was England's best known and highest-paid woman author of her era. The plots of her novels invariably centered on an innocent damsel shut up inside a gloomy castle and menaced by evil men; supernatural elements are introduced and later debunked with rational explanations. "The Mysteries of Udolfo" (1794) was her most popular book. Radcliffe's other Gothic novels are "The Castles of Athlin and Dubayne" (1789), "A Sicilian Romance" (1790), "Romance of the Forest" (1791), and "The Italian" (1797). She was born Ann Ward in London. In 1788 she married William Radcliffe, a newspaper editor who encouraged her to write. A shy and retiring woman, she shunned the public eye and, after her marriage, never mixed in private society; her reclusiveness only added to her mystique. After the appearance of "The Italian", when she was 33 and at the peak of her fame, Radcliffe retired from the literary scene. This sparked a rumor, which still persists, that she had gone insane from the horrors she had dreamed up for her books. A more plausible reason surfaced after her death. Found among her papers was the manuscript of the novel "Gaston de Blondville", which Radcliffe completed in 1802 but refused to publish. A conventional romance of poor quality, it suggests that she had simply run out of ideas as a writer and was astute enough to know when to quit. Considering how quaint Radcliffe's work seems today, it's difficult to imagine the impact it had during the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. The Marquis de Sade was a fan. Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, Percy Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Charlotte and Emily Bronte were all influenced by her. Jane Austen parodied Radcliffe with her novel "Northanger Abbey", and Edgar Allan Poe disparaged her (by name) in his short story "The Oval Portrait". Radcliffe's spirit can even be seen moving through the pages of Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" (1938). Through influence alone Radcliffe's novels can be considered landmarks of Women's Literature.
Novelist. Famed for her Gothic tales of terror and romance, she was England's best known and highest-paid woman author of her era. The plots of her novels invariably centered on an innocent damsel shut up inside a gloomy castle and menaced by evil men; supernatural elements are introduced and later debunked with rational explanations. "The Mysteries of Udolfo" (1794) was her most popular book. Radcliffe's other Gothic novels are "The Castles of Athlin and Dubayne" (1789), "A Sicilian Romance" (1790), "Romance of the Forest" (1791), and "The Italian" (1797). She was born Ann Ward in London. In 1788 she married William Radcliffe, a newspaper editor who encouraged her to write. A shy and retiring woman, she shunned the public eye and, after her marriage, never mixed in private society; her reclusiveness only added to her mystique. After the appearance of "The Italian", when she was 33 and at the peak of her fame, Radcliffe retired from the literary scene. This sparked a rumor, which still persists, that she had gone insane from the horrors she had dreamed up for her books. A more plausible reason surfaced after her death. Found among her papers was the manuscript of the novel "Gaston de Blondville", which Radcliffe completed in 1802 but refused to publish. A conventional romance of poor quality, it suggests that she had simply run out of ideas as a writer and was astute enough to know when to quit. Considering how quaint Radcliffe's work seems today, it's difficult to imagine the impact it had during the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. The Marquis de Sade was a fan. Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, Percy Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Charlotte and Emily Bronte were all influenced by her. Jane Austen parodied Radcliffe with her novel "Northanger Abbey", and Edgar Allan Poe disparaged her (by name) in his short story "The Oval Portrait". Radcliffe's spirit can even be seen moving through the pages of Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" (1938). Through influence alone Radcliffe's novels can be considered landmarks of Women's Literature.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Advertisement
