Значение слова RADCLIFFE в Литературной энциклопедии

RADCLIFFE

MRS. ANN (WARD) (1764-1823).-Novelist, only _dau._ of parents in a respectable position, in 1787 _m._ Mr. William Radcliffe, ed. and proprietor of a weekly newspaper, the _English Chronicle_. In 1789 she _pub._ her first novel, _The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne_, of which the scene is laid in Scotland. It, however, gave little promise of the future power of the author. In the following year appeared _The Sicilian Romance_, which attracted attention by its vivid descriptions and startling incidents. Next came _The Romance of the Forest_ (1791), followed by _The Mysteries of Udolpho_ (1794), and _The Italian_ (1797), a story of the Inquisition, the last of her works _pub._ during her life-time. _Gaston de Blondeville_, ed. by Sergeant Talfourd, was brought out posthumously. Mrs. R. has been called the Salvator Rosa of British novelists. She excels in the description of scenes of mystery and terror whether of natural scenery or incident: in the former displaying a high degree of imaginative power, and in the latter great ingenuity and fertility of invention. She had, however, little power of delineating character. Though her works belong to a type now out of fashion, they will always possess an historical interest as marking a stage in the development of English fiction.

Литературная энциклопедия.