Radcliffe, Ann

Radcliffe, Ann
orig. Ann Ward

born July 9, 1764, London, Eng.
died Feb. 7, 1823, London

English gothic novelist.

Brought up in a well-to-do family, in 1787 she married a journalist who encouraged her literary pursuits. Her first two novels were published anonymously. She achieved fame with her third novel, The Romance of the Forest (1791). With her fourth, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), she became the most popular novelist in England. The Italian (1797), which displays rare psychological insight, reveals her full powers. In her tales, scenes of terror and suspense are infused with an aura of romantic sensibility. See also gothic novel.

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▪ English author
née  Ward  
born July 9, 1764, London, Eng.
died Feb. 7, 1823, London

      the most representative of English Gothic novelists. She stands apart in her ability to infuse scenes of terror and suspense with an aura of romantic sensibility.

      Radcliffe's father was in trade, and the family lived in well-to-do gentility. In 1787, at the age of 23, she married William Radcliffe, a journalist who encouraged her literary pursuits. Ann Radcliffe led a retired life and never visited the countries where the fearful happenings in her novels took place. Her only journey abroad, to Holland and Germany, was made in 1794 after most of her books were written. The journey was described in her A Journey Made in the Summer of 1794 (1795).

      Her first novels, The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne (1789) and A Sicilian Romance (1790) were published anonymously. She achieved fame with her third novel, The Romance of the Forest (1791), a tale of 17th-century France. Her next work, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), by which she became the most popular novelist in England, tells how the orphaned Emily St. Aubert is subjected to cruelties by guardians, threatened with the loss of her fortune, and imprisoned in castles but is finally freed and united with her lover. Strange and fearful events take place in the haunted atmosphere of the solitary castle of Udolpho, set high in the dark and majestic Apennines.

      With The Italian (1797), Radcliffe realized her full stature as a writer. It shows not only improved dialogue and plot construction, but its villain, Schedoni, a monk of massive physique and sinister disposition, is treated with a psychological insight unusual in her work. She made considerable sums of money from The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian, selling the copyright of the former for £500 and that of the latter for £800. Radcliffe published no more fiction in her lifetime; it seems likely that she ceased to write novels as soon as it was no longer financially necessary to do so. She was notoriously shy about being addressed in person as an author.

      In the last 20 years of her life Radcliffe wrote mostly poetry. Her poems (1816) and her posthumous novel Gaston de Blondeville (1826), which includes a good deal of verse, were comparatively unsuccessful.

      There is little physical horror in Radcliffe's “tales of terror,” and elements that seem to be supernatural are usually found to have some rather disappointing natural explanation. Her characterization is usually weak, her historical insight is almost nonexistent, and her stories abound in anachronisms and impossibilities. But Radcliffe's admirers cared as little for “realism” or accuracy as she did. They reveled in her romanticized views of nature, her intimations of evil, and her prolonged scenes of suspense.

      Sir Walter Scott called her “the first poetess of romantic fiction,” and her many admirers included Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Christina Rossetti. Writing in the tradition of the novel of sensibility, she boldly focused the themes of nascent Romanticism in her stories and paved the way for the greater talents of Scott and the Romantic poets.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Radcliffe, Ann — orig. Ann Ward (9 jul. 1764, Londres, Inglaterra– 7 feb. 1823, Londres). Novelista gótica inglesa. Se crió en una familia pudiente y en 1787 se casó con un periodista que la incentivó a desarrollar su talento literario. Sus dos primeras novelas… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Radcliffe,Ann Ward — Rad·cliffe (rădʹklĭf ), Ann Ward. 1764 1823. British writer of Gothic novels, including The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). * * * …   Universalium

  • Radcliffe, Ann Ward — ► (1764 1823) Novelista británica. Autora de Los misterios de Udolfo, entre otras …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ann Radcliffe — Nom de naissance Ann Ward Activités Écrivain Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ann Radcliffe — Ann Radcliffe. Ann Radcliffe (* 9. Juli 1764 als Ann Ward in London, England; † 7. Februar 1823 ebenda) war eine englische Schriftstellerin, eine der populärsten Vertreterinnen des Schauerromans (Gothic Novel) ihrer Zeit. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • RADCLIFFE (A.) — RADCLIFFE ANN (1764 1823) Les cinq romans d’Ann Radcliffe sont un parfait reflet de l’esthétique de son époque: on y retrouve le goût des ruines, de l’architecture gothique et des paysages pittoresques ou sublimes, ainsi que des épanchements… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Radcliffe — Radcliffe, Ann Ward …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Radcliffe — (Ann Ward, Mrs.) (1764 1823) romancière anglaise. Ses récits de terreur (les Mystères d Udolphe, 1794) fondèrent le roman noir …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ann Radcliffe — This article is about the 18th century author. For the 17th century benefactor of Harvard, see Ann (Radcliffe) Mowlson. Anne Radcliffe File:Anne Radcliffe.jpg Born 9 July 1764(1764 07 09) Holborn, London Died 7 February 1823(182 …   Wikipedia

  • ANN — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom.   Sigles d’une seule lettre   Sigles de deux lettres > Sigles de trois lettres   Sigles de quatre lettres …   Wikipédia en Français

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