The Mysteries of Udolpho

By: Ann Ward Radcliffe

Narrated by: Alison Larkin

This was the most popular novel of Radcliffe's time; Radcliffe's portrayal of her heroine's inner life raised the Gothic romance to a new level. The atmosphere of fear and the gripping plot continue to thrill today.

This is the story of the orphaned Emily St Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the Castle of Udolpho by her aunt's new husband Montoni. Here she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montoni's threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors which threaten to overwhelm her.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Long Winded but Beautiful, Dark and Sweet

The Mysteries of Udolpho is slow but beautifully slow. Yes, it has a slouching overbelly of a plot, and a self-righteous heroine so pious its infuriating, you want to give her a good spanking sometimes. But Radcliffe's shafting Alpine environments, ruined chateaus, gaping chasms and naked chambers of Gothic sexiness and horror, make the novel's mechanical mellodrama worth drudging through. Moreover, the writing, and particularly the interjecting poetry, is very sweet and Alison Larkin's voice is very flavoursome, seeming to shift from chaste English country girl to predatory Italian bandit with the seductive ease of a well educated mature lady of feminine omnipotence. If god were a woman, i'd hope she'd have Larkin's voice.
I would recommend this title to anyone interested in the history of the novel, Romanticism and the gothic romance in particular. Reading this book you can clearly see the bridge between Augustanism, Sentimentalism, Regency and Victorian Literature emerging. You can see Mary Shelley reading and loving this novel, just as you can see Charlotte Bronte reading and loving this novel. But yes, it is a long and hard read, and with many a moan and bump along the way. Indeed, i think the length of the novel says something about the desiring nature of Radcliffe's audience. For many a young lady in England in 1794, it must have been a long wait to get to the mysteries of Udolpho.

A classic horrid mystery ♡

definitely a little silly, dated and wordy, but fun nonetheless. Also a great performance made it easier to get through. A nice follow up to listen to after Northhanger Abbey.

Loved it!

So great to have the privilege of listening to this on audio by award winning Alison Larkin who is in dazzling form here. She should win an award for her portrayal of the villainous Montoni who very much reminds me of Scar in The Lion King. 

Any serious fan of classic literature will recognize Ann Radcliffe as the grandmother of gothic fiction and the vampire craze we have to day owes much to her writing. This novel I believe was the first "best seller" and after listening one can understand why. 

What separates a great book like this from the popular Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse novels is the obvious well rounded education of Ms Radcliffe. For example at the heart of the novel's mystery are the rogue italian militias that roamed the Apenines and Ms Radcliffe makes glorious use of the dark history. Where else would we learn about that? In addition the sentence structure and descriptive details are some of the best in literature and Ms Larkin renders them like Horowitz playing Chopin.

I've listened to it twice and look forward to at least a few more.

Very Entertaining!

I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters. Author provided beautiful, graphic descriptions that I could easily follow in my mind's eye. A very enjoyable read, indeed

an enjoyable book, however a long winded book!

an enjoyable book of it's time , however a long winded book! I never grew to love it but I do not regret reading it.