This is the biography of the Gothic novelist, Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), author of "The Mysteries of Udolpho", the world's first
"best seller". The text clarifies Radcliffe's emergence from a Dissenting Unitarian, rather than a conventional Anglican, background. This places Radcliffe within the circle of other women writers nurtured in radical Dissenting backgrounds (such as Wollstonecraft, Hays, Inchbauld and Barbauld). Radcliffe's childhood and family background are documented and the rumours of her madness and reclusiveness investigated leading to an evaluation of the resons for her probable mental breakdown. The text constitutes a "cultural history" of a writing woman, demonstrating her place within radical culture, literary tradition and aesthetic discourse, and examining her role in the rise of the professional woman writer. Her novels are analyzed mainly in the context of her biography and sources.
- 328 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
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T-H-E
A
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E
-
S
-
T
-
H
-
E
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T
-
I
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C
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D-F
T-E-R-R-D-R
was
veryÂ
unequal;Â
sometimes
sheÂ
was
sunk
in
calmÂ
melancholy,
and,
at
others,
asÂ
I
have
been
told,
she
betrayed
allÂ
the
symptoms
of
frantic
madness'
(290).
Agnes
isÂ
a
perfectÂ
example
ofÂ
the
eighteenth-centuryÂ
medicalÂ
model
of
psychologicalÂ
disorder:
'she
was
frantic
and
melancholy
by
quick
alternatives;
then,
she
sunkÂ
into
a
deep
and
settledÂ
melancholy,Â
whichÂ
still,
however,
has,
at
times,
been
interrupted
byÂ
fitsÂ
of
wildness'Â
(577).
AllÂ
ofÂ
the
genuineÂ
horrors
of
mentalÂ
alienation
are
adroitlyÂ
projected
from
EmilyÂ
onto
SisterÂ
Agnes,
who
functions
asÂ
an
aestheticÂ
scapegoatÂ
wherebyÂ
Emily
is
purged
of
madness
('the
horrors',
643)
and
permitted
to
celebrate
the
delightful
terrors
('the
wildÂ
genius',
296)
ofÂ
the
Gothic-Romantic
imagination.
â˘
a
Table of contents
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- 1 The Great Enchantress
- 2 Dissent versus Decorum
- 3 Taste versus Trade
- 4 Miss Nancy
- 5 A Literary Establishment
- 6 The Aesthetics of Terror
- 7 Portrait of the Artist
- 8 Unrivalled Genius
- 9 Picturesque Tours
- 10 The Mighty Magician
- 11 Behind the Veil
- 12 Horrid Mysteries
- 13 The Gothic Tourist
- 14 Olden Times
- 15 Construction of the Legend
- 16 Sequestered at Windsor
- 17 The Final Years
- 18 Mother Radcliffe
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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Yes, you can access Mistress of Udolpho by Rictor Norton in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Criticism. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.