Ann Radcliffe: A Gothic Heroine for Today

Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) was “the great enchantress” of her generation, in the words of Thomas de Quincey. She changed the face of fiction in the Romantic period and shaped the development of Gothic romance. The extraordinary impact of her work also helped to cement an association between this genre and women writers and readers. But, of course, Radcliffe was far from the only woman writing Gothi...

Emeritus Professor Robert Miles is editing Radcliffe's  A Sicilian Romance  as part of  The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. From the evolution of Radcliffe's poeticism to her defining of the Gothic heroine, Miles highlights the importance and brilliance of Radcliffe's second novel.

Professor Dale Townshend and Dr Elizabeth Bobbitt are working together to edit Radcliffe's posthumous works for publication as part of  The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. From  Gaston de Blondeville,  Radcliffe's 1826 novel (and the only   one to include a real ghost), to her wealth of poetry, Townshend and Bobbitt make the case for reading Radcliffe's lesser known -...

In the final decade of the eighteenth century, Ann Radcliffe revolutionized the British novel, creating a new psychological fiction of suspense that would come to be called “the Radcliffe school.” Blending travel and terror, poetry and adventure, her writing was more than merely popular; it made her a sensation across media. Radcliffe novels were adapted by dramatists for the stage; her poems were...

Professor Angela Wright is undertaking the mighty task of editing Radcliffe's most popular novel,  The Mysteries of Udolpho  for publication as part of  The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. In this episode, Professor Wright considers the novel's unique and ground-breaking success, how  Udolpho  came to shape Radcliffe's reputation, and ultimately makes a case for why th...

Dr Deborah Russell has had the pleasure of editing Radcliffe's very first novel,  The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne,  for publication as part of  The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe . In this episode, Dr Russell discusses the novel's contemporary reception, what it reveals to us about Radcliffe's early writing process, and how this changed during the course of her career. Dr Russe...

Professor Michael Gamer recently completed the mammoth task of editing Radcliffe's  The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents  for publication as part of  The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. In this episode, he reflects on this process, provides insight into Radcliffe's contemporary reception, and explains how a handful of negative reviews impacted the novel&...