pickMonks! Monks with red eyes & a horrifying visage. Parents! Parents who plot dastardly deeds or suffer nobly. Lovers! Lovers who are kept apart by evil forces. Nature! Nature in all its sublime splendour. Servants! Servants with wit & a good heart & the talent to tell a story. These are some of Radcliffe's favourite things, & the way she weaves them together into a riveting, menacing Gothic tale makes it some of mine, too. #italianbuddyread
batsy While Udolpho is a sprawling, "wild" novel, the Italian is more compact & contained. What I did like about this one is the persistent sense of dread conveyed through claustrophobic, dark spaces & being imprisoned (literally). I enjoy how Radcliffe uses & subverts tropes. As with most Gothic fiction by British writers, there's an underlying xenophobia that suggests recurring social issues being worked out through the popular fiction of the day. 4y
batsy @jenniferw88 4y
youneverarrived Excellent review! This wasn‘t on my radar but you‘ve made me want to read it now. 4y
See All 33 Comments
Simona As @youneverarrived said ... Excellent review❣️👌 4y
Freespirit Sounds brilliant.. thank you 😊 4y
JennyM Fabulous review as always xx (edited) 4y
Graywacke Such a fun commentary. I want to ask, who is Ann Radcliffe. Off to look her up. 4y
AnneCecilie Love your review of this one😊 4y
erzascarletbookgasm Hahahaha I love your review! It‘s great, and fun, as what Dan said! Once I caught up, I couldn‘t put it down and finished ahead too. 4y
eeclayton And food! (Or the lack thereof) 😂 Excellent review! 4y
Tanisha_A @Graywacke Doing the same 4y
Tanisha_A Fab review! ❤️ 4y
batsy @youneverarrived Thank you! If you're in the mood for melodramatic Gothic lit that's also interesting on several levels, can't quite go wrong with Radcliffe 🙂💜 4y
batsy @Simona @Freespirit @JennyM @AnneCecilie @erzascarletbookgasm Thank you ❤️❤️ 4y
batsy @Graywacke @Tanisha_A Queen of GothLit 👑😁 4y
batsy @eeclayton Hahaha, thank you! It's true, after that shepherd's breakfast we only got oatcakes & a fish dish that never quite materialised ... Disappointing 😂 4y
Graywacke @batsy !! You‘re dangerous 4y
Lcsmcat This was so much more compact than Udolpho! And character growth/change was slightly more believable than Romance of the Forest. It may be my favorite Radcliffe. 4y
jenniferw88 @Lcsmcat it's definitely my favourite Radcliffe, mainly because if you read them in published order you can see the xenophobia (cos of french revolution) developing, main gothic tropes emerging & character growth. @batsy 4y
Lcsmcat @jenniferw88 She does definitely think all things English are superior. 😀 4y
readordierachel You make this sound well worth reading. What were you saying about being *distracted by all the books*? 😅 4y
DaveGreen7777 I love this review! 😀😁 4y
batsy @jenniferw88 It's interesting and I do want to read more Radcliffe, or as many as I can get my hands on! @Lcsmcat This one is definitely the more accomplished effort but I have a soft spot for how unruly Udolpho is; jam-packed with so many different styles 🙂 4y
batsy @readordierachel I'm glad! 😁 It's a lot of fun when you're in the mood for it 💀👻 4y
batsy @DaveGreen7777 Thank you! 😆 4y
jenniferw88 @batsy there's not that many... The Castles of Athlin and Dunblane, A Sicilian Romance, The Romance of the Forest, Mysteries of Udolpho, Italian, Gaston de Blondeville. I personally wouldn't bother with the first or last! 4y
batsy @jenniferw88 Noted 😆 The two Forests are the ones on my radar. 4y
Centique Well played! What ho! with this review. I think you just might be the #QueenofGothLit yourself 🙌 4y
batsy @Centique Thank you! I don't know if I deserve that title 😆💜 4y
KVanRead What a fabulous review!!! Spot on! 4y
batsy @KVanRead Thank you! 😊 4y
Suet624 Wow!!!! This sounds fantastic! Or rather your review of it is fantastic. Oh shoot, it's you! You're fantastic! 4y
batsy @Suet624 Thank you, lovely Sue 😆❤️ You're so sweet! 4y