Ann Radcliffe and the Writing of The Mysteries of Udolpho
Ann Radcliffe was one of the most popular writers of her time. Her works, and specifically The Mysteries of Udolpho, would go on to define the genre of the Gothic novel. It was a novel written by a woman, for women, about women. (Wolff, 98) The story centered around a young girl, Emily St. Aubert, and the trials she went through after her parents died. The novel deviated from the primary form of the period, epistolary prose fiction. (Downie, 24) Instead, Radcliffe's works incorporated poetry and included vivid descriptions of far off places and the explained supernatural. These features, along with the relatable themes of the work, made it very appealing to female readers. Radcliffe herself wrote The Mysteries of Udolpho while sitting by her fireplace in the evenings waiting for her husband to come home from work. By writing the type of book she wanted to read in that situation, Radcliffe appealed to the growing population of female readers of the era. By 1800, 45% of women in England could read. (Downie, 23) This created a demand for a new type of literature. Radcliffe filled this demand by writing a novel women could actually relate to because they saw themselves in the heroine.