Ann Radcliffe: A Gothic Heroine for Today is the companion podcast series for the AHRC-sponsored Ann Radcliffe, Then and Now project. Listen to interviews from Radcliffe experts, each attempting to answer the question: why is Ann Radcliffe still relevant today?
Host: Dr. Rosie Whitcombe (AHRC-sponsored Research and Innovation Associate at the University of Sheffield)
Podcast Producer: Kitty Turner
Music By: Kitty Turner
SPECIAL EPISODE: Women in White and the New Gothic Cinema: Reinventing the Gothic Heroine | A lecture by Professor Catherine Spooner
If you missed Professor Spooner’s excellent lecture, ‘Women in White and the New Gothic Cinema: Reinventing the Gothic Heroine’, listen to the recording here.
There has been a revival of interest in the Gothic heroine in the twenty-first century, in big budget films such as Crimson Peak, Poor Things, Nosferatu, Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights.
This talk traces the history of the Gothic heroine back to the eighteenth-century novels of Ann Radcliffe, the highest paid author of her day.
Paying particular attention to costume and the iconic image of the woman in white running from a dark house, Professor Catherine Spooner explores the ways in which contemporary writers and film-makers have positioned the Gothic heroine as embodying feminist resistance and dark romance.
SPECIAL EPISODE: Ann Radcliffe and Romantic Culture | A lecture by Professor Michael Gamer
If you missed Professor Michael Gamer’s wonderful lecture, ‘Ann Radcliffe and Romantic Culture’, you can now listen to it here.
In the final decade of the eighteenth century, Ann Radcliffe revolutionized the British novel, creating a new psychological fiction of suspense that would come to be called “the Radcliffe school.” Blending travel and terror, poetry and adventure, her writing was more than merely popular; it made her a sensation across media.
Radcliffe novels were adapted by dramatists for the stage; her poems were set to music by composers; and her most famous scenes reimagined visually by artists. Jane Austen and John Keats loved her works; Walter Scott and Charles Dickens found early inspiration in her scenes of terror and dread.
In this special episode, Professor Michael Gamer discusses Radcliffe’s life, writing, and the astounding influence she had on Romantic writing and culture.
SPECIAL EPISODE: Ann Radcliffe and Women’s Gothic Writing | A lecture by Dr Deborah Russell
If you missed Dr Deborah Russell’s fantastic lecture, ‘Ann Radcliffe and Women’s Gothic Writing’, you can listen to it here.
Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) was “the great enchantress” of her generation, in the words of Thomas de Quincey. She changed the face of fiction in the Romantic period and shaped the development of Gothic romance. The extraordinary impact of her work also helped to cement an association between this genre and women writers and readers.
But, of course, Radcliffe was far from the only woman writing Gothic fiction in the formative early days of the genre. This lecture will explore Radcliffe’s career in the context of the other women who inspired her, imitated her, and contested her vision of the Gothic.
EPISODE ONE: Editing The Italian with Professor Michael Gamer
Professor Gamer reflects on the process of editing Radcliffe’s penultimate novel, The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents for publication as part of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. He provides insight into Radcliffe’s contemporary reception, explains how a handful of negative reviews impacted the novel’s early reception, and discusses the unique villainy of the novel’s antagonist, Schedoni (amongst other things). Most importantly, Professor Gamer explains why The Italian should take priority on your reading list!
EPISODE TWO: Editing The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne with Dr. Deborah Russell
Dr. Russell has had the pleasure of editing Radcliffe’s very first novel, The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne, for publication as part of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. In this episode, Dr. Russell discusses the novel’s contemporary reception, what it reveals to us about Radcliffe’s early writing process, and how this changed during the course of her career. Dr. Russell reflects on her editing process, and makes a very strong case for why The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne should be your next read.
EPISODE THREE: Editing The Mysteries of Udolpho with Professor Angela Wright
Professor Wright is undertaking the mighty task of editing Radcliffe’s most popular novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho for publication as part of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. In this episode, Professor Wright considers the novel’s unique and ground-breaking success, how Udolpho came to shape Radcliffe’s reputation, and ultimately makes a case for why this classic Gothic text should be your next read.
EPISODE FOUR: Editing Radcliffe’s Posthumous Works with Professor Dale Townshend and Dr. Elizabeth Bobbitt
Professor Dale Townshend and Dr. Elizabeth Bobbitt are working together to edit Radcliffe’s posthumous works for publication as part of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. From Gaston de Blondeville, Radcliffe’s 1826 novel (and the only one to include a real ghost), to her wealth of poetry, Townshend and Bobbitt make the case for reading Radcliffe’s lesser known – but equally fascinating – publications.
EPISODE FIVE: Editing A Sicilian Romance with Emeritus Professor Robert Miles
Emeritus Professor Robert Miles is editing Radcliffe’s A Sicilian Romance as part of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ann Radcliffe. From the evolution of her poeticism to her defining of the Gothic heroine, Miles highlights the importance and brilliance of Radcliffe’s second novel.