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franfernandezarce's review against another edition
3.0
there's really no point in trying to compare this book with contemporary literature. it is a more interesting exercise to compare it with what i would gather to be ann radcliffe's most famous book [b:The Mysteries of Udolpho|93134|The Mysteries of Udolpho|Ann Radcliffe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309376731s/93134.jpg|3253891]
a book a i did enjoy
the main thing i could say about this comparison is how this book has potential . once i had finished it i just kept thinking (oddly considering i've been reading quite chunky books as of late) how this story could have benefited from being longer. you can definitely see the potential of what she shows in udolpho but it almost feels like she's not entirely certain yet that she can write a book of greater proportions. considering this was her first novel, i kept thinking about my own start while writing (not that i'm a published author--i wish) and how sometimes you put put a story and realise that beyond being a single narrative, it's more like the patient skeleton of a bigger story waiting to be cover (in flesh)
a book a i did enjoy
the main thing i could say about this comparison is how this book has potential . once i had finished it i just kept thinking (oddly considering i've been reading quite chunky books as of late) how this story could have benefited from being longer. you can definitely see the potential of what she shows in udolpho but it almost feels like she's not entirely certain yet that she can write a book of greater proportions. considering this was her first novel, i kept thinking about my own start while writing (not that i'm a published author--i wish) and how sometimes you put put a story and realise that beyond being a single narrative, it's more like the patient skeleton of a bigger story waiting to be cover (in flesh)
kailey_luminouslibro's review against another edition
2.0
I do love Ann Radcliffe's books, but this first attempt of hers is sort of pathetic. It's amazing to think that she went on to write such examples of Gothic perfection like Mysteries of Udolpho, The Italian, and Romance of the Forest.
If you are new to reading Radcliffe, I would NOT recommend starting with this book. There is next to no dialogue. The characters are not as developed as they could be. The plot twists are just a little TOO convenient. The story could have been fleshed out more and explained better.
But... there is this lovely little glimmer of the writer that she would eventually become, making it worth the read. The asides about human nature, the concise but pointed writing style, the suspenseful plot, the mysterious characters, the apparently supernatural events that turn out to be merely artifice - all these wonderful elements are still present, just waiting to blossom in her future novels.
If you are new to reading Radcliffe, I would NOT recommend starting with this book. There is next to no dialogue. The characters are not as developed as they could be. The plot twists are just a little TOO convenient. The story could have been fleshed out more and explained better.
But... there is this lovely little glimmer of the writer that she would eventually become, making it worth the read. The asides about human nature, the concise but pointed writing style, the suspenseful plot, the mysterious characters, the apparently supernatural events that turn out to be merely artifice - all these wonderful elements are still present, just waiting to blossom in her future novels.
gothlithoe's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book Ann Radcliffe wrote and already you can her distinctive tropes in this book. Secret tunnels underneath castles, sadistic monarchs, melodramatic emotions, gloomy architectural atmospheres contrasted with the beauty of nature. I am such a sucker for her writing and I’m sad this is the last of her books I hadn’t read. I will definitely be re-reading all her books at some point.
annastarlight's review against another edition
2.0
I mean, there are mistaken identities, fainting heroines, castles, and creepy nobility. It has all the ingredients of a Gothic story, but Radcliffe's writing is not yet properly developed in this book. It's short, but A Sicilian Romance is better.
thebibliophilegirl's review against another edition
3.0
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne by Ann Radcliffe was the second book that I had to read for my gothic module at university. I had heard a lot about Radcliffe prior to reading this short novel because of her masterpiece: Mysteries of Udolpho (which I haven't personally read, but I have heard nothing but good things about it). The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne was Radcliffe's first published piece of work, so whilst it was not a life-changing read, it was definitely entertaining.
Years ago, when Young Earl Osbert of Castle Athlin was a boy, his father was ambushed and slain by Baron Malcolm of Dunbayne. Now Osbert has come into his majority, and in the company of a sturdy and heroic young peasant named Alleyn he's gone to avenge his father's murder. What waits for them at the castle of Dunbayne is not vengeance but a fate that neither one of them imagines: not just conquest or defeat, but a terrible challenge - and the romance of a lifetime.
I don't know why, but I enjoyed this short novel much better than The Castle of Otranto. I say I do not know because The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne has less of a storyline and, is more or less description and lacks fully complete dialogue.
Radcliffe shows us the ongoing war brewing between two rival families and the tension that seeps into both castles because of this. We see entrapment, romance, hidden identities, secret passageways and brutality - all of the themes that make a gothic novel. However, the one thing that seemed to be missing was the spookiness. There were no supernatural elements at all and that really surprised me. It seemed more like a family drama novel than a gothic one... If I was rating this on its gothicness, then I would definitely give it a lower rating, but since I am reviewing the novel in itself and not in the genre, then that's why I give this a 3.5 and not a 2.
I felt very attached to the characters and I cared for Mary deeply as she was always getting in the middle of things and she would always put herself in harms way so that she could save her family. It was little things like this that pointed out that it was a female that had written this book. Ok, the female was still being slightly overruled by the patriarch, but not as much... And she had slightly more of a voice than any of the female characters in The Castle of Otranto.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. It wasn't as gothic as I thought it would be, so I think that I definitely shall be reading Mysteries of Udolpho so that I can get a proper sense of Radcliffe's writing for the gothic genre.
Years ago, when Young Earl Osbert of Castle Athlin was a boy, his father was ambushed and slain by Baron Malcolm of Dunbayne. Now Osbert has come into his majority, and in the company of a sturdy and heroic young peasant named Alleyn he's gone to avenge his father's murder. What waits for them at the castle of Dunbayne is not vengeance but a fate that neither one of them imagines: not just conquest or defeat, but a terrible challenge - and the romance of a lifetime.
I don't know why, but I enjoyed this short novel much better than The Castle of Otranto. I say I do not know because The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne has less of a storyline and, is more or less description and lacks fully complete dialogue.
Radcliffe shows us the ongoing war brewing between two rival families and the tension that seeps into both castles because of this. We see entrapment, romance, hidden identities, secret passageways and brutality - all of the themes that make a gothic novel. However, the one thing that seemed to be missing was the spookiness. There were no supernatural elements at all and that really surprised me. It seemed more like a family drama novel than a gothic one... If I was rating this on its gothicness, then I would definitely give it a lower rating, but since I am reviewing the novel in itself and not in the genre, then that's why I give this a 3.5 and not a 2.
I felt very attached to the characters and I cared for Mary deeply as she was always getting in the middle of things and she would always put herself in harms way so that she could save her family. It was little things like this that pointed out that it was a female that had written this book. Ok, the female was still being slightly overruled by the patriarch, but not as much... And she had slightly more of a voice than any of the female characters in The Castle of Otranto.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. It wasn't as gothic as I thought it would be, so I think that I definitely shall be reading Mysteries of Udolpho so that I can get a proper sense of Radcliffe's writing for the gothic genre.
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