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fastasashark 's review for:
The Mysteries of Udolpho
by Ann Radcliffe
I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I expected, especially given a lot of the reviews talking about how boring it is. I can see why some folks would find it boring, but I enjoyed Radcliffe's writing style and long descriptions. I ended up really liked Emily's progression as a character, as naive and perpetually fainting as she was. I also liked the more "proto-feminist" themes that Radcliffe included in that character progression, more specifically having Emily grow into her own agency and the way she deals with the men around her. It was just cool to read for something written in the 1700s. As ridiculously dramatic as Emily was, I do think that Radcliffe (who I think was from a merchant class background rather than aristocratic like Emily) was meaning for at least some of it to be intentionally funny. Especially when you've got Theresa's voice towards the end basically being like "friggin' rich people problems" lol I'm curious to read Northanger Abbey now, though. As far as fitting in with my "spooky October theme" there were definitely some creepy moments, but Radcliffe's intent is to eventually provide a logical explanation for seemingly supernatural events. Was still a cozy fall read that also gave me some laughs (some intentional, a lot probably unintentional).