The Mysteries of Udolpho

By: Ann Ward Radcliffe

Narrated by: Alison Larkin

Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

This was the most popular novel of Radcliffe's time; Radcliffe's portrayal of her heroine's inner life raised the Gothic romance to a new level. The atmosphere of fear and the gripping plot continue to thrill today.

This is the story of the orphaned Emily St Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the Castle of Udolpho by her aunt's new husband Montoni. Here she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montoni's threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors which threaten to overwhelm her.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Thank You, Audible

Any additional comments?

I have been waiting for this English classic to come out on audio for years. A brilliant performance by the narrator ranging from upper class English to serving maids, from lords to thieving brigands all rendered with exactness and enthusiasm that carries us through the narrative like a Harry Potter story. I'll have to reread my Jane Austen collection now that I can fully understand all her "Udolpho" references. One more benefit of this audio.

lovely

this has been my favorite book for many years and this recording is perfectly lovely

Delightful book!

I've been wanting to read this book ever since I read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, which is probably the reason why most people read it today. What a fun listen! Admittedly, this book is somewhat shallow; it's kind of like the late 1700s equivalent of the Twilight series, but without the vampires. I think it would have appealed to the same audience of teenage girls. Anyway, it's a delightful book if taken in context, and the performance is good.

Whew it can be hard to keep up with!

I enjoyed this book. I picked it bc I had read where people named Anne Ward Radcliffe as the mother of modern mystery fiction and I love mystery/thriller and historical fiction! I listen to A Lot of books set in London in this time but I confess that listening to a book that was actually written in the 1700’s is different! I did have to go back and relisten to some parts bc I’d realize I wasn’t sure who somebody was or who was talking etc. I love a long historical fiction novel so I didn’t mind but it did take me longer than usual and I did find I needed to focus on listening rather than hearing a little more than usual but then again that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

Hard to argue with 2+ centuries of popularity

Larkin is fantastic. If 31 hours is too much, the 2.0x selection works well. And to think Radcliffe did this without a typewriter.
Note to self: read more 18th century literature; a great counterpoint to 21st century focus on action only.

I first of all noticed her highlighting the rationality/sensibility debate - puts human touch on the 17th-20th century philosophers on all sides of the issue. And shows that Austen/Bronte etc did not start from scratch.

Any society that can tolerate Game of Thrones from beginning to end shouldn't be complaining about a long book.

A Gothic education!

I wanted to read this being a fan of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. I really enjoyed it. It is very long so I particularly appreciated being able to multi-task as one can with Audible. I always enjoy the rich language of any late 18th Century writings. It made me smile quite often and I can see why Jane Austen wanted to satirise it! I admire Mrs Ratcliffe’s audacity in describing in great detail places she’d never been to. She did it rather well as she was good at creating atmosphere. The fainting females made me laugh as did the terror as one couldn’t take it too seriously - no nightmares for me! The plot was a bit convoluted but it was a good read/listen! Alison Larkin is an excellent narrator. The main characters are all French and Italian but the accents had to be British - I’m not sure that she could have contrived it any other way. Thank you Audible.

I have no clue why this was in my wish list

Ok so I don’t know anything about 18th century literature but fuck I wrote a book and it was absolutely terrible and it was all over the place, but by god this piece of work made my mess cognizant

Only Alison Larkin Could have Narrated This Story

If you could sum up The Mysteries of Udolpho in three words, what would they be?

Love.
Loss.
Surprise.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Mysteries of Udolpho?

One of the most memorable moments was the heroine was reunited with her lover.

What does Alison Larkin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This book has sentences that seem to go on like arias in an opera. Only Alison Larkin could give the listener every subtle sense of meaning behind every word. Alison Larkin helped carry me along an experience that was like riding a great wave of powerful prose. I could only ride the wave because she gave me the support--through her clear evocation of every emotion and through every description--that we were moving towards an exciting shore.

I have never heard a story with such deep descriptions of every mental, and emotional experience. Only Alison Larkin has the range of tone and wit and sympathetic and sometimes passionate delivery to have made such a story a great and moving work of art.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This book and Alison Larkin's brilliant interpretation of every line was much too grand an experience to try to absorb in one sitting.

I decided early on to let this remarkable experience--like listening to the greatest symphony of life and loves--continue over time. I would listen to it in the evenings.

All day I would look forward to hearing Alison Larkin's melodic voice give powerful meaning to a story that seemed to have almost every possible emotion in it.

Any additional comments?

I am grateful that Alison Larkin narrated this story for us. Without her remarkably sensitive and powerful reading of this material it might not have come alive in such a dramatic way.

The Narrator

I have been looking for an audible version of this tale that doesn’t leave out its essence by unfortunate editing… however those that do this without a great narrator also fail. Here in this version we have perfect harmony.

Excellent

First rate rendering of a most important classic.
While this novel is applauded as an early gothic, it is far too luxuriantly written to overlook the elegance and sheer beauty of its prose.