Rating: 
Summary: This was one of the best books I've ever read!
Review: The Mysteries of Udolpho is a sadly little known book. No one should go through high school & college without reading it. It IS rather long, but definitely worth it ^_^
I recommend this book to anyone who loves far off places, distant time periods, picturesque scenery, terror, and classic romance
Rating:
Summary: An awesome novel!
Review: The Mysteries of Udolpho is one of the grooviest books I have ever read. I didn't find the 600+ pages that hard, I am used to that much or more, so it was perfect for me. The beggining wasn't slow at all, at least to me. I found it entertaining. But when Emily St. Aubert gets to the castle Udolpho the pace really picks up. Emily is an excellent heroine, Valancourt is the perfect hero, Signor Montoni is the most deliciously evil villian ever. I really liked Emily as a heroine, and towards the end I really liked Lady Blanche too. The events that happen at the castle are very frightening, and the mystery of the black veil puzzled me throughout the whole book. The end result was suprising and at first horrifying. After Emily escapes from the castle, and their are still 200+ pages left, I wondered how Radcliffe could keep the book exciting, but she does. The adventures that follow after Udolpho are just as exciting as the adventures at Udolpho. I strongly reccomend this book!
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Summary: The great gothic classic, one that kept Jane Austen's Catherine up all night in Northanger Abbey.
Review: The opening is pastoral and didactic, but soon the novel turns into an exploration of lyrical, sexualized terror. You think the novel can't maintain the level of dreamlike, romantic nightmare nor its sexually charged atmosphere; but as you move from a vast abbey in the woods, to a surreal Venice, to the castle where rape and torture seem but a page away, the tension builds.
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Summary: Beautiful Mystery
Review: The story of a young woman who learns fortitude and practices it in a marvelous way in all her hardships. It shows the stark contrast between true love with fortitude in Emily and lustfulness with selfishness, greed, and cruelty in other characters. It may be difficult to labor through the first third of it if one is not a true lover of nature. If one continues patiently, her detailed descriptions lead the reader to enjoy the beauty of God's creation in the midst of the most difficult times of life. It has many terrifying moments and mysteries that keep one wondering until the book ends. The plots of Radcliffe's mysteries have been efficiently summarized by Russell Noyes in an introduction of 1956: "The hero is a gentleman of noble birth, likely as not in some sort of disgrace; the heroine, an orphan-heiress, high-strung and sensitive, and highly susceptible to music and poetry and to nature in its most romantic moods. A prominent role is given to the tyrant-villain. He is a man of fierce and morose passions obsessed by the love of power and riches. The villain can usually be counted on to confine the heroine in the haunted wing of a castle because she refuses to marry someone she hates. Whatever the details, Mrs. Radcliffe generally manages the plot and action so that the chief impression is a sense of the young heroine's incessant danger. On oft-repeated midnight prowls about the gloomy passageways of a rambling, ruined castle, the heroine in a quiver of excitement (largely self-induced) experiences a series of hair-raising adventures and narrow escapes. Her emotional tension is kept to the pitch by a succession of strange sights and sounds . . . and by an assorted array of sliding panels, trap doors, faded hangings, veiled portraits, bloodstained garments, and even dark and desperate characters."
Rating:
Summary: BEYOND RIVETING, TRANSCENDS SHIVERING
Review: This book was one of the most popular of the late 18th century when it was published, and has never ceased to be in print...and it's no wonder why! This piece of literature is SHEER BRILLIANCE; Ann Radcliffe's writing style is unsurpassed; she cleverly spins a yarn of terrifying proportions, while delighting readers with her majestic discourse on nature. If you're looking for a "page-turner," you've certainly found one. When you reach the five hundredth page or so, you'll be climbing the walls to know what the conclusion will be! This is largely a psychological thriller, and should be approached from that angle, as well as with a good degree of patience, as the story does slooooowly unravel. Join the elite ranks of readers who have experienced the GENIUS of The Mysteries of Udolpho.
Rating:
Summary: BEYOND RIVETING, TRANSCENDS SHIVERING
Review: This book was one of the most popular of the late 18th century when it was published, and has never ceased to be in print...and it's no wonder why! This piece of literature is SHEER BRILLIANCE; Ann Radcliffe's writing style is unsurpassed; she cleverly spins a yarn of terrifying proportions, while delighting readers with her majestic discourse on nature. If you're looking for a "page-turner," you've certainly found one. When you reach the five hundredth page or so, you'll be climbing the walls to know what the conclusion will be! This is largely a psychological thriller, and should be approached from that angle, as well as with a good degree of patience, as the story does slooooowly unravel. Join the elite ranks of readers who have experienced the GENIUS of The Mysteries of Udolpho.
Rating: 
Summary: the gothic masterpiece
Review: this is a very long novel. the story doesnt pick up speed or literary brilliance until 200+ pages in when the heroine Emily finally comes to the mouldering castle of Udolpho for 200+ pages. Here and in herlast gothic novel, "The Italian" Radcliffe achieves the most staggering and successful use of literal "darkness, or night" effect to create suspense, suspicion, and fear among her heroes and heroines, primarily. It is slightly dull at times early on until the action begins on arrival at Udolpho but then it is a very strong novel worthy of its praise as Mother Radcliffe's gothic masterpiece and the pinnacle of first wave Gothic fiction.
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Summary: Brilliant Gothic romance
Review: This is the definitive Gothic novel, along with Castle of Otranto the most influential work in its genre. Despite its enormous length it is great fun to read. It perfectly captures the sense of dark mystery and quasi-medieval setting that typifies the form.
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Summary: The Year of Living Dangerously
Review: Though this is a coming of age story, Emily St. Aubert never strays far from the womblike enclosure of a house, carriage, or prison. She trips away from home seeking the beauty of nature, but inevitably she is brought back by the voice of her saintly father, a disapproving aunt, or "ghosts" in the forest. Walls confine and protect Emily during her difficult transformation from child to woman. The simple and elegant chateau where the genial heroine grew up is a "resort of love, of joy, of peace and plenty". As the sole surviving child, she is cherished by her parents who lead a sublime existence amidst surrounding acres of beautiful forests, a river, mountains, and plains. Unlike most Renaissance women, Emily is very well educated. Most of her idle hours are spent writing poetry, reading, and wandering through the woods. She is also a gifted singer and enjoys playing the lute and sketching. The heroine of The Mysteries of Udolpho is difficult to forget. Indeed, one of the best features of this book is the variety of well-drawn characters. Shortly after the story begins, Emily and her ailing father embark on a journey by carriage through the backwoods of southern France. From the window of the carriage, Emily views seascapes, grassy knolls, wildflowers, flocks of sheep, dark forests and the towering Alps. Radcliffe uses vivid imagery, but it can be tiresome after two or three consecutive paragraphs of landscape description intermixed with the travelers' meditations on the scenery. A few months after this journey Emily becomes the reluctant ward of her social climbing aunt. She is trapped in Aunt Cheron's tacky house which is filled with large furniture, servants in spiffy uniforms, and gaudy decorations. She escapes that monstrous house and arrives in Venice at the time of the Carnival. From the balcony of her uncle's desolate mansion on the Adriatic, Emily discovers a group of revelers dressed as nymphs floating along the canal. The incident inspires her to write a poem called "The Sea-Nymph" about a naiad who sings songs to sad sailors. If Poseidon finds out, he chains her to a rock till the sailors go away. The Poseidon character represents Signor Montoni, the tyrant whose domineering will and avarice threaten to destroy Emily's plans for happiness. Here, as elsewhere, Radcliffe's use of poetry enhances the story and provides a window into the subconscious mind. Under mysterious circumstances, Mademoiselle Emily and her incongruous family leave Venice at the break of dawn. Montoni is the only one of the three who knows why they are going to Udolpho, a gargantuan castle situated near a waterfall, surrounded by a dark forest and mountains on all sides. Strong sexual overtones in the Udolpho chapters contribute to making this novel an exasperatingly prudish masterpiece of pornography. The well orchestrated action scenes, subtle humor, and chilling suspense are also noteworthy. There is a connection between this castle and the next stop on Emily's itinerary: Chateau-le-Blanc, an abandoned estate bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Within this house, Emily discovers a clue about her father's mysterious past. Here also is the scene of Emily's heartbreaking reunion with Vallencourt, the carefree traveler she met in the French Alps. Like many other coming of age stories, Udolpho deals with the subject of emerging sexuality and the male/female dynamic. Physical attraction, a vital element of romantic love, appears missing in Emily's relationship with Vallencourt - a weak hero. Nevertheless, Emily views Vallencourt as marriage material. He is allot like her father: benevolent, gentle, honest, and spiritually oriented. In contrast, Montoni reveals himself to be a selfish, domineering, dishonest and violent man. And yet Radcliffe has decided to add virility and good looks to this character's makeup. As a result, an undercurrent of incest pervades the story. Emily's feelings towards Montoni are revealed when she finds herself confused as to why she wants to see him in the Condottieri uniform. Montoni is a far more potent figure than her own lover. Emily herself overpowers Vallencourt in every scene, and it is to her credit that she can hold her own with Montoni. The contrast between the hero and villain is an honest portrayal of how women often divide men into two categories: good/safe-impotent, bad/sexy. Love problems lead Emily to accept a longstanding invitation to visit the convent of St. Clair. During a grueling interview with Sister Agnes, the mad nun, Emily discovers a shocking secret about her family history. It is in this seaside convent that the reader encounters, in it's worst aspect, the real horror of the book: the dark side of human nature. All things dark fascinate the gothic writer. It is no wonder that ominous gothic buildings loom prominently in these stories. Their fantastic design, intricate detail and deep shadows inspire dread. And that is one of the primary functions of gothic fiction - to inspire fear and awe. The term "Gothic fiction" is derived from the gothic architecture of buildings in these novels. But Radcliffe, who defined the genre, does not limit her visual scope to gothic settings. As Emily finds out, the mysteries of Udolpho extend beyond the walls of that ancient edifice. A clue to one of the mysteries is found in Emily's modest home. But it is not until she leaves her home that she discovers this. It is during her year of travels that Emily comes of age legally. In the beginning of the book she is still a naive young girl who loves listening to Madame Quesnel's description of the splendor of the balls, banquets, and processions at court. During her travels she discovers that the world beyond her doorstep is full of hedonists, phonies, and scary people. The lesson of her yearlong journey is that there is no place like home. At the conclusion of the story the heroine becomes both legally and emotionally "of age". How Emily gains this wisdom is the stuff of this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Gothic, squared
Review: Well, what more can be said about this book than that it is the gothic form taken to its fullest extremity? In it, the mood, the feeling, the sense of black doom crouched and waiting - are the life of the story. While palpably false things appear to be happening (all of it carefully explained, naturally, prior to the end) you can't escape the feeling that evil is alive and brooding on you. Dark, full of lush descriptions of old castles (segue into romanticism, anyone?) and bare, craggy mountains - stocked with emotionally overactive protagonists - and darkly evil antagonists - it is a fascinating and delightful foray into a world of literature that has died and left us to our cold, clear-eyed rationality. Sad. - Kelly Whiting
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