RADCLIFFE, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho, A Romance; Interspersed With Some Pieces Of Poetry. (4 VOLUMES - FIRST EDITION - 1794)

AUTHOR: RADCLIFFE, Ann. 

TITLE: The Mysteries of Udolpho, A Romance; Interspersed With Some Pieces Of Poetry.

PUBLISHER: London: for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1794.

DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION. 4 vols., 7-1/16" x 4-1/4", half-titles present in volumes 1, 2, & 4, bound in contemporary full marbled calf, rebacked at some earlier date, gilt decorated spines, gilt lettered red and green spine labels, library plate of Scot Butler Clifford (c.1901-1971 Indianapolis IN) dated "Dec. 1, 1931 to rear pastedown of each volume.

CONDITION: Internally clean and bright, hinges rubbed but covers firmly attached, head and foot of spines fine, back corners rubbed with some loss, overall sill a VERY GOOD copy in an early binding.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The author's fourth book and generally regarded as the seminal Gothic novel. Although preceded and influenced by Walpole's The Castle of Otranto and Leyland's Longsword, The Mysteries of Udolpho contributed most significantly in establishing the Gothic genre. "Mrs. Radcliffe's novels will always retain in English literature the important position due to the founder of a school who was also its most eminent representative." (DNB) 'Radcliffean fiction' became a sub-genre of its own and it was reading Udolpho that inspired Mathew Lewis to write The Monk which in turn influenced a host of other gothics. Indeed, direct influence of this book can be seen in Austen's Northanger Abbey (a parody of Udolpho in which the book is mentioned); Bronte's Jane Eyre; Scott's Waverley; Dickens' Little Dorrit; Collins' Woman in White and Du Maurier's Rebecca.