The Printing of The Mysteries of Udolpho
This second edition copy of The Mysteries of Udolpho was printed by G.G. and J. Robinson of Paternoster-Row, London in 1794. At the time, they were the largest booksellers in London, known for being very generous to their authors. (Urban, 579) G.G. and J. Robinson was specifically known for publishing works of considerable size and value. As a work comprised of four volumes each almost four hundred pages long, The Mysteries of Udolpho fit that description. G.G. and J. Robinson paid Ann Radcliffe £500 for the rights to The Mysteries of Udolpho. (McIntyre, 40) This was substantially above the average price paid at the time.
The works were very simple, with no illustrations or printer's mark. There is a minimalistic title page for each volume. The paper was good quality, although it tended to get thinner in the middle of each volume. This bare bones style was very common for the era. Even in this style novels were still very expensive. The Mysteries of Udolpho would have sold for approximately £14. (Pearson, 163) Therefore, even though G.G. and J. Robinson gave Ann Radcliffe a lot of money for the rights, they still would have made a fair amount from the production of the books, especially considering how popular it ended up being.