Delphi Complete Works of Ann Radcliffe

2803 Pages·2013·10.89 MB·English

by  Ann Radcliffe

The Complete Works of
ANN RADCLIFFE
(1764-1823)

Contents
The Novels
THE CASTLES OF ATHLIN AND DUNBAYNE: A HIGHLAND STORY
A SICILIAN ROMANCE
THE ROMANCE OF THE FOREST: INTERSPERSED WITH SOME PIECES
OF POETRY
THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO
THE ITALIAN
GASTON DE BLONDEVILLE
The Poetry
ST. ALBAN’S ABBEY: WITH SOME POETICAL PIECES
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS
The Non-Fiction
JOURNEY MADE IN THE SUMMER OF 1794
THE FEMALE ADVOCATE
The Biography
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF MRS. RADCLIFFE
© Delphi Classics 2013
Version 1

The Complete Works of
ANN RADCLIFFE
By Delphi Classics, 2013
Interested in Gothic literature?
Then you’ll love these eBooks…

For the first time in publishing history, Delphi Classics is proud to present the complete works of these
three writers. Bierce’s supernatural tales, Stoker’s horror stories and Shelley’s gothic genius will provide
perfect supplements to the reading of Ann Radcliffe’s works.
www.delphiclassics.com
The Novels
Holborn — Radcliffe’s birthplace
Holborn today
THE CASTLES OF ATHLIN AND DUNBAYNE: A HIGHLAND
STORY
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne: A Highland Story was Ann Radcliffe’s first
novel, published in 1789 by Thomas Hookham. Radcliffe was an immensely
successful and popular writer who garnered both commercial and to a certain
extent, considering the low regard in which novels were held, critical plaudits.
She began exploring her theories of the sublime and of viewing the landscape as
a character and work of art. Her novels were a skilful interweaving of the
romance genre with works of sensibility.
Her first Gothic tale centres on two opposing clans in feudal Scotland: Athlin
and Dunbayne. Malcolm the Lord of Dunbayne has recently murdered Earl
Osbert’s father in a cowardly ambush and left Osbert, his sister Mary and their
mother Matilda bereft. This calculated killing results in Osbert’s burning desire
to seek revenge on Malcolm while he simultaneously worries over leaving or
endangering his mother and sister by any reckless acts. They encourage Osbert
to calm his vengeful passion and not to pursue any retribution against his
father’s murderer. However, they fail in this quest and Osbert is assisted in his
attempt to destroy Malcolm by the peasant, Alleyn when they launch an attack
on Malcolm’s castle. Apart from the theme of revenge, the novel also contains
the romance elements of many Gothic tales; Osbert is torn between vengeance
and the love he bears his family and his sister Mary is divided over her love for
Alleyn and the duty, obedience and honour she owes her family.
Mary becomes the object of desire for three very different men but her ability
or opportunity to choose is constrained by the expectations and responsibilities
that a woman in her position faced in protecting the family name and acceding to
male familial wishes. Malcolm and Osbert appear as opposites in the feudal
world of morality they inhabit, although it is not difficult to uncover similarities
in their codes of conduct regarding their behaviour to power. Radcliffe weaves a
gothic tale of usurpation, imprisonment and romance into a seemingly
conservative text, which conforms to the chivalric code and restores the correct
dynastical and patriarchal order.
The first edition’s title page