Reader discussion: The Mysteries of Udolpho

Public reader discussion about The Mysteries of Udolpho in the WeRead Catalog by Ann Ward Radcliffe.

Tell me about relatively unknown 19th century novels

By shelf-bookmark

Honestly, those super long, super dramatic 19th-century books are probably my comfort reads. Sometimes it feels like I’ve already gone through every story with ghosts, attic ladies, duels, messy inheritances, fancy carriages, affairs, tuberculosis—you know, all the fun old-time melodrama. And then somehow I stumble on another one. By “another one,” I mean an old one that I somehow missed. My most recent find was Wilkie Collins, and I really enjoyed it. I can’t imagine I’m the only one who hasn’t read a bunch of authors like that, so can someone throw me some suggestions? I’ll grab my oil lamp and dig in.

I want to read more gothic books

By tenderdragon89

I’m totally into dark, spooky vibes—like there are hidden secrets everywhere. And creepy aristocrats are my favorite. I definitely want more of that in my life.

Ann Radcliffe

By bardticket

Hey new friends! I’ve always been really into gothic books, so I’m glad I stumbled on this. I just found out about Ann Radcliffe—what would be a good one to start with?

What's your favorite book that no one else has read?

By WinterButton4155

I’ve never met anyone in real life who’s read any of Piers Anthony’s books, and I don’t think I know anyone who has.

Books that reference other books

By midnightcarrot1972

I’ve kind of noticed that a lot of “classic” books end up pulling from earlier classics. Like Little Women feels like it keeps referring back to Pilgrim’s Progress basically throughout the whole thing. And Catch-22 does the same kind of thing with a bunch of other classics—though the one that stuck out to me was Crime and Punishment, since the characters get mentioned by name a few times. I usually enjoy books more when I spot those nods, but I have no idea how many references I’ve probably missed over the years. What about you—what books have you seen doing this? And which ones seem to get referenced the most (besides the Bible, since that one feels like the obvious answer)?

Gothic horror recommendations?

By cosmicChair98

I ended up really liking Gothic horror and ghost stories—the vibe is what hooks me, and then the creepy stuff follows. I just finished *The Little Stranger* (Waters), and it felt a lot more Gothic than full-on horror, but I still enjoyed it. Any suggestions for other Gothic horror / gothic ghost books to check out? Thanks!

Classic books that are in conversation with each other? Or classic books that share the same theme?

By Fish_White

I’m trying to start a new reading project and I’m looking for ideas for how to read books from really different time periods, as long as there’s some kind of link between them. Like, I’m thinking about how Ulysses kind of talks back to The Odyssey, and also connects with Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre. I’d also love stuff that’s a little less obvious, like The Iliad paired with War and Peace if the theme is war, or Madame Bovary with Anna Karenina through adultery. If you’ve got any suggestions, I’d really appreciate it.

Gothic Hipster Novels

By FernKettle

I feel like everyone talks about the usual Gothic classics—Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll/Hyde—but nobody really seems to bring up the weirder, less talked-about ones. And I’m not trying to be all “ugh, mainstream” about it or anything (mods, title checks out). I’ve been reading a few and I honestly think they deserve more attention. I’m in a Master’s Lit program, and for class I’ve been digging into the British Gothic stuff. I’m especially interested in Ann Radcliffe’s *The Mysteries of Udolpho* and *The Italian*, and Matthew Lewis’s *The Monk*. Just to be clear, I’m not asking for homework help or anything I’m planning to publish—this is really just me wanting to chat about the genre and these three books in particular. From what I’ve read, *Udolpho* came first, then *The Monk*, and *The Italian* last. I’ve also seen it mentioned (maybe in an intro?) that they kind of feel like a back-and-forth between Radcliffe and Lewis, but I’m not 100% sure there’s agreement on that. Either way, they’re wildly different. Radcliffe is basically like, “No real supernatural stuff, please.” Any ghosts/demons/monsters end up feeling like overactive imaginations, superstition, or plain old bad guys trying to scare everyone. But she still keeps you on edge—there’s plenty of kidnapping, violence, murder, all that. She seems to reject the “devil is real” gimmick and go with the real evil people actually do. Like… why invite demons when humans can already do the worst things? Then *The Monk* is the opposite vibe. It’s brutal and way more openly supernatural—black magic, demons, and even Lucifer gets in on it. The nasty stuff isn’t there because of magic, though; it’s mostly humans doing horrible things and using the supernatural as basically the tool. And I swear there’s some karma involved, because the main guy absolutely gets what’s coming. It’s still kind of bittersweet, which is the mood I like best for Gothic. Everything’s punished, but it doesn’t erase the damage, and yeah, you end up feeling sad and grim for a bit—like you want a happy palette cleanser afterward. And I think *The Italian* might be Radcliffe responding to *Monk*. It’s shorter than *Udolpho* and doesn’t waste as much time on huge amounts of backstory and buildup. She still gives you the same kind of emotional characters, pretty (and intense) landscapes, and that “maybe it’s not supernatural after all?” feel. The Inquisition shows up again too, and it’s a big part of what happens—same kind of control, male power establishment that a lot of Gothic writers leaned on. She kind of bends a little (shorter, more “okay fine” concession), but her voice is still unmistakably hers. So yeah, these novels aren’t super popular, but they’ve got a lot going on. Has anyone else read them? What did you think? And if you haven’t, do they sound like something you’d actually want to try?

Got convinced to read a book from another book's mention of it.

By goldtower2872

I’d been meaning to get to Discworld for a bit, but it wasn’t like I was really pushing to start it. Then Ready Player One brought it up a couple times, so I finally grabbed it—well, technically I’m listening to the audiobooks while I run, and I’m about halfway through the series now. Has anyone else ever read one book that mentions another and just goes, “Okay, guess I’ll read that”?

Dracula was a gateway drug.

By Epilogue825

I saw someone asking for a big list of gothic stuff, and since I worked through Dracula and Frankenstein first, I figured I’d share what I’ve got. Not totally sure I can give you a super detailed rundown, but hopefully this’ll keep you busy for a bit. - The Witch of Ravensworth — George Brewer - The Castle of Otranto — Horace Walpole - The Beetle — Richard Marsh (came out around the same time as Dracula, and I think it was even more popular at first) - Carmilla — Sheridan Le Fanu - The Forest of Valancourt; or, The Haunt of the Banditti (1813) — Peter Middleton Darling - The Horrors of Oakendale Abbey — Mrs Carver I also have a couple Ann Radcliffe novels on hand. And then there are authors like Ambrose Bierce, Elizabeth Gaskill, Vernon Lee, and M. R. James, plus Daphne du Maurier and Susan Hill.

Ann Radcliffe marathon

By Lake_Frog

I’ve been going back through Ann Radcliffe lately, and it’s been ages since I last read her stuff. Since then I’ve reread The Romance of the Forest, A Sicilian Romance, Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne, and now I’m working on The Italian. Next up is The Mysteries of Udolpho, and after that I’m finally going to read Gaston de Blondeville for the first time. Has anyone else read her? Did you enjoy it?