The Mysteries of Udolpho

By: Ann Ward Radcliffe

Narrated by: Alison Larkin

Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Thank You, Audible

Any additional comments?

I have been waiting for this English classic to come out on audio for years. A brilliant performance by the narrator ranging from upper class English to serving maids, from lords to thieving brigands all rendered with exactness and enthusiasm that carries us through the narrative like a Harry Potter story. I'll have to reread my Jane Austen collection now that I can fully understand all her "Udolpho" references. One more benefit of this audio.

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.

Only Alison Larkin Could have Narrated This Story

If you could sum up The Mysteries of Udolpho in three words, what would they be?

Love.
Loss.
Surprise.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Mysteries of Udolpho?

One of the most memorable moments was the heroine was reunited with her lover.

What does Alison Larkin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This book has sentences that seem to go on like arias in an opera. Only Alison Larkin could give the listener every subtle sense of meaning behind every word. Alison Larkin helped carry me along an experience that was like riding a great wave of powerful prose. I could only ride the wave because she gave me the support--through her clear evocation of every emotion and through every description--that we were moving towards an exciting shore.

I have never heard a story with such deep descriptions of every mental, and emotional experience. Only Alison Larkin has the range of tone and wit and sympathetic and sometimes passionate delivery to have made such a story a great and moving work of art.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This book and Alison Larkin's brilliant interpretation of every line was much too grand an experience to try to absorb in one sitting.

I decided early on to let this remarkable experience--like listening to the greatest symphony of life and loves--continue over time. I would listen to it in the evenings.

All day I would look forward to hearing Alison Larkin's melodic voice give powerful meaning to a story that seemed to have almost every possible emotion in it.

Any additional comments?

I am grateful that Alison Larkin narrated this story for us. Without her remarkably sensitive and powerful reading of this material it might not have come alive in such a dramatic way.

A Classic, but not my style

What disappointed you about The Mysteries of Udolpho?

Though this book is one of the greatest classics of all time, and I hear it's never been out of print, I can't say I found it a compelling listen. I struggle a little with 18th and 19th century period pieces anyway, but this one seemed to be more than usually drawn out, and though there is a great deal of drama and high suspense, I found it all rather contrived. However, several of my friends, more in tune with the Gothic style, really enjoyed it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Ann Ward Radcliffe again?

This, I beleive, was Radcliffe's first book. I might try some of her later work.

What about Alison Larkin’s performance did you like?

The reader performs well, she's comfortable with Radcliffe's high style, and has a pleasant voice.

Because Jane Austen seemed to recommend it...

In "Northanger Abbey," Austen's main character--and every other young person in the book--is either reading or has read "The Mysteries of Udolpho." It's a 31 hour read in this performance, and I really enjoyed listening to it. The story and the performance were good, though it moves a little slowly, or possibly confusingly, at times. I was quite put off when, somewhere in the middle, the author seems to start an entirely different novel with as-of-yet unmentioned characters. It all gets tied together eventually and comes to a very satisfactory climax and conclusion. The characters are interesting, and it is often hard to predict where they are headed, which is a good thing. This is definitely more "Gothic" than the novels of Jane Austen, but I think that it influenced the later author, and I glad to have read it. Well done, Mrs. Radcliffe.

Be sure to read this in the woods at night

The performance is brilliant and the story has more fainting women than all other gothic stories combined. It is that scary.

'Twilight' for Austen era teenage girls

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

teens of the 1800's?

What about Alison Larkin’s performance did you like?

Alison Larkin is a trooper - she did her very best to make this listenable and I will be looking for more narration by her

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

A revealing window on life from the period - also makes Northanger Abbey even more enjoyable

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

Excellent

First rate rendering of a most important classic.
While this novel is applauded as an early gothic, it is far too luxuriantly written to overlook the elegance and sheer beauty of its prose.

Delightful book!

I've been wanting to read this book ever since I read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, which is probably the reason why most people read it today. What a fun listen! Admittedly, this book is somewhat shallow; it's kind of like the late 1700s equivalent of the Twilight series, but without the vampires. I think it would have appealed to the same audience of teenage girls. Anyway, it's a delightful book if taken in context, and the performance is good.

Luscious indulgent listen

You have to like gothic fiction to tolerate this book. Luckily I love it, so really enjoyed this reading of a book I already knew. Alison Larkin reads the sections of poetry really nicely, I often don't 'get' poetry but this made the passages enjoyable, rather than a struggle which I normally skip over to return to the narrative.

The characters are French and Italian in this book, but to differentiate between different persons, Ms Larkin uses Scottish, West Country and Yorkshire accents! This however does not spoil the story and makes it easy to tell who is speaking. The heroine Emily St Aubert is a little insipid for modern tastes perhaps, always with unsupportable spirits and fainting away, but remember what kind of novel this is and enjoy the luscious description of the landscape and, once about a quarter of the way in, a really gripping tale of mysteries.

Good story bit too much poetry for modern tastes?

I was interested in this book as a big Jane Austen fan and it featuring in Northanger Abbey. It's a good story very intriguing with lots of twists and turn and mystery. However it has I feel alot of unnecessary poetry in for a modern reader. It makes me appreciate Austen's writing style and humor all the more.

A newly discovered literary gem.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Mysteries of Udolpho to be better than the print version?

Yes, I would never have the time or patience to read the novel.

Have you listened to any of Alison Larkin’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have not but will look out for other titles.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, the whole novel was a sheer delight and difficult to stop listening to.

Any additional comments?

Pure quality literature and narration. So so enjoyable.

Loved this: great story, great narrator

Great story, suitably spooky and romantic.

It does have that unfortunate habit common to 18th century novels where, at the peak of the action, we pause for 15 pages of scenery. But the scenery was beautifully written...

[slight spoiler alert] The breakup was the best breakup I've ever heard/read/seen and I loved it.

The narrator was very good - amazing facility with accents, and I felt like her accents and tones enhanced the characters.

Fully recommended

Unlikeable Main Character Makes Annoying Choices

This book is very much “of its time” and doesn’t hold up well in the modern world - I appreciate that it wasn’t written recently, but can’t get past all of the men in this story making decisions for the main character and her constantly asking their permission.
The performance of the person reading the book is very good and is the only reason I held out until the end, but did not enjoy any moment of the story.

Shakespeare's real sister!

She was called the Shakespeare of her time. Her prose is like poetry. Like William Shakespeare, it is a mystery who Ann Radcliff was. The voice for this audio is gusto-enthused and passionate.

A gothic novel which has endured

Write in 18th century, this novel with its drama, supernatural occurrences, evil bullying men who seek to subdue our sweet innocent heroine -this novel must have thrilled it's middle class audience it was designed for. It is still an exciting gothic romp well worth a read.