Compendio Ann
Content
Biography
Very little is known of Ann Radcliffe's life. In 1823, the year of her death, th
e Edinburgh Review, said: "She never appeared in public, nor mingled in private
society, but kept herself apart, like the sweet bird that sings its solitary not
es, shrouded and unseen."[1] Christina Rossetti attempted to write a biography a
bout her life, but abandoned the project for lack of information.
According to Ruth Facer: "Physically, she was said to be 'exquisitely proportion
ed'
quite short, complexion beautiful 'as was her whole countenance, especially
her eyes, eyebrows and mouth.'"[1]
Radcliffe was born as Ann Ward in Holborn, London on 9 July 1764. Her father was
William Ward, a haberdasher, who later moved to Bath to manage a china shop. He
r mother was Ann Oates. In 1787, she married Oxford graduate and journalist Will
iam Radcliffe, part-owner and editor of the English Chronicle. He often came hom
e late, and to occupy her time she began to write and read her work to him when
he returned home. They had a childless, but seemingly happy marriage. Ann called
him her "nearest relative and friend."[1] The money she earned from her novels
later allowed them to travel together, along with their dog, Chance. When Ann di
ed on 7 February 1823, there were some reports that she was insane. Her husband
claimed that she died of an asthma attack. Despite the acclaim for her writing,
she did not maintain a public profile.
There are few artifacts or manuscripts that give insight into Radcliffe's person
al life, but in 2014 a rare letter from Radcliffe to her mother-in-law was found
in an archive at the British Library. Its tone suggests a strained relationship
between the two, similar to the relationship of two characters in her novel The
Italian.[2]
Literary life
Radcliffe's fiction is characterised by seemingly supernatural events that are t
hen provided rational explanations. Throughout her work, traditional moral value
s are asserted, the rights of women are advocated, and reason prevails.
Radcliffe published six novels as well as a book of poetry, but her talent for p
rose far exceeded her poetic ability. She also authored a work based on her one
excursion to the Continent, A Journey Made in the Summer of 1794, through Hollan
d and the Western Frontier of Germany...To Which Are Added Observations of a Tou
r to the Lakes (1795).
Radcliffe is considered one of the founders of Gothic literature. While there we
re others that preceded her, Radcliffe was the one that legitimised the genre. S
ir Walter Scott called her the "founder of a class or school".[1] Jane Austen pa
rodied Radcliffe's novel The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey. Radcliffe
did not like where Gothic literature was headed, and one of her later novels, T
he Italian, was written in response to Matthew Gregory Lewis's The Monk. It is a
ssumed that this frustration is what caused Radcliffe to cease writing. After Ra
dcliffe's death, her husband released her unfinished essay "On the Supernatural
in Poetry," which details the difference between the sensation of terror her wor
ks aimed to achieve and the horror Lewis sought to evoke.[3] She states that ter
ror aims to stimulate readers through imagination and perceived evils while horr
or closes them off through fear and physical dangers.[4]
Art connection
Radcliffe's elaborate description of landscapes was influenced by the painters C
laude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa. She often wrote about places she had never been
. Lorrain's influence can be seen through Radcliffe's picturesque, romantic desc
riptions of landscapes, as seen in the first volume of The Mysteries of Udolpho.
Rosa's influence can be seen through dark landscapes and elements of the Gothic
.
Radcliffe said of Lorrain:[1]
Very little is known of Ann Radcliffe's life. In 1823, the year of her death, th
e Edinburgh Review, said: "She never appeared in public, nor mingled in private
society, but kept herself apart, like the sweet bird that sings its solitary not
es, shrouded and unseen."[1] Christina Rossetti attempted to write a biography a
bout her life, but abandoned the project for lack of information.
According to Ruth Facer: "Physically, she was said to be 'exquisitely proportion
ed'
quite short, complexion beautiful 'as was her whole countenance, especially
her eyes, eyebrows and mouth.'"[1]
Radcliffe was born as Ann Ward in Holborn, London on 9 July 1764. Her father was
William Ward, a haberdasher, who later moved to Bath to manage a china shop. He
r mother was Ann Oates. In 1787, she married Oxford graduate and journalist Will
iam Radcliffe, part-owner and editor of the English Chronicle. He often came hom
e late, and to occupy her time she began to write and read her work to him when
he returned home. They had a childless, but seemingly happy marriage. Ann called
him her "nearest relative and friend."[1] The money she earned from her novels
later allowed them to travel together, along with their dog, Chance. When Ann di
ed on 7 February 1823, there were some reports that she was insane. Her husband
claimed that she died of an asthma attack. Despite the acclaim for her writing,
she did not maintain a public profile.
There are few artifacts or manuscripts that give insight into Radcliffe's person
al life, but in 2014 a rare letter from Radcliffe to her mother-in-law was found
in an archive at the British Library. Its tone suggests a strained relationship
between the two, similar to the relationship of two characters in her novel The
Italian.[2]
Literary life
Radcliffe's fiction is characterised by seemingly supernatural events that are t
hen provided rational explanations. Throughout her work, traditional moral value
s are asserted, the rights of women are advocated, and reason prevails.
Radcliffe published six novels as well as a book of poetry, but her talent for p
rose far exceeded her poetic ability. She also authored a work based on her one
excursion to the Continent, A Journey Made in the Summer of 1794, through Hollan
d and the Western Frontier of Germany...To Which Are Added Observations of a Tou
r to the Lakes (1795).
Radcliffe is considered one of the founders of Gothic literature. While there we
re others that preceded her, Radcliffe was the one that legitimised the genre. S
ir Walter Scott called her the "founder of a class or school".[1] Jane Austen pa
rodied Radcliffe's novel The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey. Radcliffe
did not like where Gothic literature was headed, and one of her later novels, T
he Italian, was written in response to Matthew Gregory Lewis's The Monk. It is a
ssumed that this frustration is what caused Radcliffe to cease writing. After Ra
dcliffe's death, her husband released her unfinished essay "On the Supernatural
in Poetry," which details the difference between the sensation of terror her wor
ks aimed to achieve and the horror Lewis sought to evoke.[3] She states that ter
ror aims to stimulate readers through imagination and perceived evils while horr
or closes them off through fear and physical dangers.[4]
Art connection
Radcliffe's elaborate description of landscapes was influenced by the painters C
laude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa. She often wrote about places she had never been
. Lorrain's influence can be seen through Radcliffe's picturesque, romantic desc
riptions of landscapes, as seen in the first volume of The Mysteries of Udolpho.
Rosa's influence can be seen through dark landscapes and elements of the Gothic
.
Radcliffe said of Lorrain:[1]
