If only Jane Austen had written more! This what I think at times, and this sentiment is also related to the reason I decided to read this book. It doesn’t disappoint. I haven’t read anything as good in the realm of fiction since my months reading the Jane Austen books.
The Mysteries of Udolpho is the first novel that was considered to be gothic horror. There is not a lot of what we would consider horror in this book. It is very suspenseful, and there are a lot of supposed supernatural occurrences that are all explained by the end of the book. This book (set in France and Italy) is the story of Emily St. Aubert, a 16 year old, who loses her parents (just after you start to like them) at the beginning of the book. She goes to live with her aunt who marries a shady character, Montoni, an Italian mobster with a castle. Emily is confined to the castle by Montoni and is separated from her true love, Valancourt.
The Mysteries of Udolpho was mentioned extensively in Northanger Abbey. And after reading this book, I think that people should actually read the Mysteries of Udolpho before reading Northanger Abbey. If you haven’t read Northanger Abbey, you should know that the main plot in this book centers around the hilarious hijinks that are a result of the heroine reading too many gothic novels and seeing a lot of intrigue and mystery where there is none.
This book is also public domain, since it was written in the 1800′s and the copyright has expired. So you don’t even have to rush out to your library to get it. It is available for download at gutenberg.org. But this book is so good I’m going to buy it.
Tags: books, gothic novels, mysteries of udolpho, reading
Darcy, you are a much better blogger than I am. You find the time to squeeze in short blurbs that are interesting.
This post has made me want to go read both of the books you have mentioned. I have Northganger Abbey currently, but will likely have to go get the other one somewhere. Did you find it at the bookstore or anything?
I haven’t looked for it in Rochester, but I know Amazon has it, so at least it is in print!
I knew I had heard that book’s name somewhere! I never read Northganger Abbey, but I saw the movie. I’m glad you say this, I’ve got a lot of traveling coming up and needed some good books to read! B&N watch out…
I think you would enjoy both. I did!