Ann Radcliffe
“Osbert, for greater security, was conveyed from the tower into a more centrical part of the castle, to an apartment spacious but gloomy, whose gothic windows partly excluding light, threw a solemnity around, which chilled the heart almost to horror. He heeded not this; his heart was occupied with horrors of its own. He was now involved in a misery more intricate, and more dreadful, than his imagination had yet painted. To die, was to him, who had so long contemplated the near approach of death, a familiar and transient evil; but to see, even in idea, his family involved in infamy, and in union with the murderer, was the stroke which pierced his heart to its center.” from The Castles of Athlin and Dunbagne, Chapter VI
“The light now enabled him to take a more accurate survey of the place. He perceived that some few stones of the steps which had fallen still remained attached to the wall, but he feared to trust their support only. He observed, however, that the wall itself was partly decayed, and consequently rugged with the corners of half-worn stones.” From A Sicilian Romance, Chapter 4
“The spreading dusk at length reminded Adeline of her distance from the inn, and that she had her way to find through a wild and lonely wood: she bade adieu to the syren… and pursued the path with quick steps. Having followed it for some time, she became bewildered among the thickets, and the increasing darkness did not allow her to judge the direction she was in. Her apprehensions heightened her difficulties: she though t she distinguished the voices of men at some little distance, and she increased her speed till she found herself on the sea sands over which the woods impended.” From The Romance of the Forest
“The room was dark, but a light glimmered through some panes of glass that were plced in a the upper part of a closet-door. Emily believed her father to be in the closet,and, surprised that he was up at so late an hour, apprehended that he was unwell, and was going to inquire…. On looking through the pane of glass, she saw him seated at a small table, with papers before him, some of which he was reading…during which he often wept and sobbed loud…. Presently he kneedled down, and, with a look so solemn as she had seldom seen him assume, and which was mingle with a certain wild expression that partook more of horror than of any other character, he prayed silently….” From The Mysteries of Udolpho
“Every object, on which his eyes rested, seemed to announce the presence of Ellena; and the very flowers that so gaily embellished the apartment, breathed forth a perfume, which fascinated his senses and affected his imagination.” From The Italian, Chapter 2
“The King’s great chamber was marvelous to behold. There were twenty-five wax-lights held by esquires og the household, all in the King’s livery, gentils as they were; also twenty-five wax torches were fixed high up over the tapestry. The walls were, that night, gorgeous with the story of Troy-town in ancient tapestries; there you might see the flames burning and the towers falling, and old King Priam, with beard as white as snow, his crown upon his head, and his Queen Hecuba tearing her dishevelled locks for grief.” From Gaston de Blondeville, “The Second Day”
Ann Radcliffe was a novelist and poet who wrote in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. She is firmly associated with the Gothic novel, and attributed to be one of the creators of the suspense genre. She influenced many Nineteenth Century writers such as Keats (who called her “Mother Radcliffe”), Scott (“the first poetess of romantic fiction,”) Shelley, Austen, Poe, the Brontes, and countless others.
Literary scholars have debated the intent of her stories, whether they were tedious time-waster stories or reflected a deep, highly rationalized system of belief. J.M.S. Tompkins seems to fall in the former category when he describes the pattern of her plots as “a beautiful and solitary girl is persecuted in picturesque surroundings,and, after many fluctuations of fortune, during which she seems again and again on the point of safety, only to be thrust back into the midst of perils, is restored to her friends and marries the man of her choice.”
The “picturesque” Tompkins describes is used to help build suspense and to create mystery. Heightening the unknown is a great way to build reader interest. And that is the key to what Radcliffe offers the modern writer: a case study in the use of description. The settings, scenery, natural areas surrounding the characters are an integral part of the storytelling, and in fact the story. It not only sets the mood, but clearly helps illuminate character and plot.
Resources: The Literary Gothic website has a compilation of online resources relating to Radcliffe’s life and work: http://www.litgothic.com/Authors/radcliffe.html
Some information, including the photo and Tompkins quote, taken from Wikipedia. All of Radcliffe’s novels are available in free eBook editions which can be found by searching for their titles in your web browser.