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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
Not to my tastes; it was wordy yet passive--our heroine doesn't have a lot to do here other than react, then change her reaction based on updated information. And cry. There are a lot of tears in this book, my friend. But people have obviously been stealing tropes here, from Jane Austen to Scooby Doo, so I can't regret that I read it.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a book written by a woman for women and, it would appear, specifically for younger women apt to identify with the heroine, Emily. To the modern reader, she is a fearful, weepy creature rather too full of moral concerns and overly sensitive, particularly to her surroundings be they magnificent nature, of which there are many splendid descriptions, or to the suggestive environments of gloomy castles and dilapidated country houses. Once her beloved father dies and she is virtually imprisoned at the castle of Udolpho by the villainous Montoni, her moral fibre provides her with some resolution and the pace quickens. Suspense is augmented when description, usually abundant, is omitted as with the awful scene which so terrifies Emily when she lifts the veil in the secluded room in the tower. Intimations of spirits and strains of mysterious music serve to further heighten suspense. Even the jaded modern reader is anxious to know what will happen next.
It is easy to imagine how gripping this tale, set in remote France and Italy at the end of the sixteenth century, would be to young women in the eighteenth century with little exposure beyond their domestic circle. There is also romance although, initially, Vallancourt seems too good to be true and then Emily is too hard upon him, when she repudiates him for his reported misdeeds without trying to find out his own version of events. But all turns out well in the end, the impoverished heroine becomes a wealthy woman and gets her man and loose ends are tied up. I must admit to some dissatisfaction with Monsieur Du Pont, who is never rounded out as a character but serves as a potential rival to Vallancourt and then gives up the woman he has long loved (faithfully but hopelessly) without a struggle.
Overall an interesting read as a product of its time but too lengthy for any modern escapism.
It is easy to imagine how gripping this tale, set in remote France and Italy at the end of the sixteenth century, would be to young women in the eighteenth century with little exposure beyond their domestic circle. There is also romance although, initially, Vallancourt seems too good to be true and then Emily is too hard upon him, when she repudiates him for his reported misdeeds without trying to find out his own version of events. But all turns out well in the end, the impoverished heroine becomes a wealthy woman and gets her man and loose ends are tied up. I must admit to some dissatisfaction with Monsieur Du Pont, who is never rounded out as a character but serves as a potential rival to Vallancourt and then gives up the woman he has long loved (faithfully but hopelessly) without a struggle.
Overall an interesting read as a product of its time but too lengthy for any modern escapism.
a huge and sprawling book. definitely one of the more challenging books i’ve ever read. the language used by radcliffe is complex but sublime. the novel lulls and is a bit of a slog at times. the story is full of complex dense frustrating prose yet it is still a fascinating story. radcliffes descriptive writing of natural scenery is beautiful. however by the final third of the novel the writing does begin to feel a bit meandering. i did appreciate the subtle style of radcliffe in regards to her gothic elements. everything is concealed/hidden and shrouded in mystery. very well done. overall i enjoyed reading this book. great descriptive writing. it was able to maintain fear and suspense consistently up until the final third of the novel. radcliffe didn’t rely on explicit gore, her complex and strong characters make the novel work. it’s well written and has a great plot. just take it easy on the commas. like, seriously, what was up with that? commas galore.
I know this is a classic. I really wanted to like it. But…I’ll pick it up another time. Maybe then I’ll get through it.
Compulsory uni reading, not my favourite Gothic novel, but it definitely opened my eyes to the genre. (This was a time when Gothic to me meant Robert Smith on a bad day.)
Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of a young woman named Emily. After the death of her father she must go and live with her aunt Madame Cheron, a vain and self-centered woman. Her aunt marries a cruel man named Montoni who takes his new wife and Emily back to Italy. As a result she is separated from her beloved Valancourt and forced to live in the dreary and mysterious castle of Udolpho.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.
Merged review:
Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of a young woman named Emily. After the death of her father she must go and live with her aunt Madame Cheron, a vain and self-centered woman. Her aunt marries a cruel man named Montoni who takes his new wife and Emily back to Italy. As a result she is separated from her beloved Valancourt and forced to live in the dreary and mysterious castle of Udolpho.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.
Merged review:
Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of a young woman named Emily. After the death of her father she must go and live with her aunt Madame Cheron, a vain and self-centered woman. Her aunt marries a cruel man named Montoni who takes his new wife and Emily back to Italy. As a result she is separated from her beloved Valancourt and forced to live in the dreary and mysterious castle of Udolpho.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.