The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

Her later novels met with even greater attention, and produced many imitators, and famously, Jane Austen's burlesque of The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey, as well as influencing the works of Sir Walter Scott. The success of The Romance of the Forest established Radcliffe as the leading exponent of the historical Gothic romance. She published a travelogue, A Journey Through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany in 1795. Her works included A Sicilian Romance (1790), The Romance of the Forest (1791), The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), and The Italian (1796). Her works were extremely popular among the upper class and the growing middle class, especially among young women. It set the tone for the majority of her work, which tended to involve innocent, but heroic young women who find themselves in gloomy, mysterious castles ruled by even more mysterious barons with dark pasts. She published The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne in 1789. The money she earned from her novels later allowed them to travel together, along with their dog, Chance. Radcliffe called him her 'nearest relative and friend'. They enjoyed a childless but seemingly happy marriage. He often came home late, and to occupy her time, she began to write and read her work when he returned. In 1787, she married William Radcliffe, the Oxford graduate and journalist.

Although mixing in some distinguished circles, Radcliffe seemingly made little impression in this society, and Wedgwood described her as 'Bentley's shy niece.' Radcliffe occasionally lived with her uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea in partnership with a fellow Unitarian, Josiah Wedgwood. William Radcliffe, her father and a haberdasher, moved the family to Bath to manage a china shop in 1772. Ann Ward Radcliffe of Britain wrote Gothic novels, including The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794).

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe