The Udolpho Mysteries

Anna Radcliffe is an English writer, one of the creators of the gothic novel. For seven years, she wrote novels that made her famous throughout Europe, after which Anna Radcliffe permanently set aside her pen, believing that loud fame interferes with inner peace. Almost all the great English writers of the 19th century were influenced by her in one way or another: Walter Scott, Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Stevenson, and Mayne Reid. In Russia, Radcliffe's 'horrific' prose remained one of the most popular foreign literatures for many years. Dostoevsky wrote that Radcliffe's novels excited him since childhood, and Zagotskin recognized her as one of his favorite authors. 'The Udolpho Mysteries' is Anna Radcliffe's most popular work, filled with terrible secrets, mystical premonitions, paranormal and tragic events. From the very first pages, the reader is immersed in that special atmosphere, which is a distinguishing feature of the greatest gothic novels of the late 18th century. In this edition, for the first time in Russia, the text of the novel is accompanied by illustrations from French artists of the 19th century.