Product Description
Beautiful young Emily D'Orville lives a peaceful existence in the French countryside with her loving parents. But when tragedy strikes and leaves her an orphan, Emily is separated from her true love Angereau and imprisoned in the Castle of Gorgono, her sinister uncle's fortress in the Apennine Mountains. Can Emily escape the horrors of Gorgono, or will she fall victim to Signor Androssi and his murderous friends? And what is the mystery of the horrifying picture that hangs in a locked chamber, shrouded in a black veil?

First published in 1802, The Veiled Picture is a chapbook redaction of Ann Radcliffe's Gothic masterpiece The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). The Veiled Picture faithfully preserves every major character and plot element from Udolpho while eliminating many of its details and descriptions, making it the ideal introduction to the study of Radcliffe's work.

This Valancourt Books edition includes a new introduction and notes by Jack G. Voller, as well as a wealth of appendices, including the complete text of contemporary reviews of Udolpho, contemporary reactions, mini essays on Gothic architecture and the sublime, and a comparison of key passages in The Veiled Picture and The Mysteries of Udolpho. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect Introduction to Radcliffe and the Gothic
This beautiful edition is the ideal introduction to the work of Ann Radcliffe specifically and the Gothic tradition generally. The 1802 text faithfully relates the plot and characterization of 1794's The Mysteries of Udolpho in a far more reader friendly length. Jack G. Voller's introduction, as well as various appendices (including contemporary reviews and reactions, essays, comparisons of the two works, and Ann Radcliffe's own "On Supernatural in Poetry"), add tremendous value, making this a particularly useful volume for any interested reader, and a perfect text for use in the classroom, as well. ... Read more

Product Description
An unparalleled example of Gothic romance, Radcliffe's novel portrays the multitude of misfortunes heaped upon the admirable French heroine, Emily St. Aubert. Losing first her mother, then her beloved father, the orphaned Emily must be separated from her newfound love Valancourt to live with her aunt and new guardian, Madame Cheron. Emily then faces the evil machinations of her aunt's husband, the Italian brigand Signor Montoni, who imprisons the two women in the dismal, degenerate, and isolated castle Udolpho. It is here where Emily must overcome persecution from an unwelcome suitor, the threats of Montoni, and, most frightening of all, the psychological terror of apparently supernatural occurrences and her own riotous, horrified imagination. Radcliffe transitions from the striking mountain landscapes of France and Italy to the illusory and even phantasmal terrain of the heroine's mind creates an enthralling tale that explores the farthest reaches of a young woman's experiences of outer and inner life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A damsel in distress, corpses, hidden passages, dark but romantic atmosphere...
...the quintessential eighteenth century gothic novel.

France, 1584.The St. Auberts don't have much, but they also don't want anything other than what is before them.They live in a chateau overlooking the most beautiful landscapes, from rivers to woods to trees.Monsieur St. Aubert loves books.He has a giant library, and his biggest pleasure in life is reading Horace while overlooking the gorgeous scenery before him.He has passed his passions on to his lovely daughter Emily.But the family is never the same after Madame St. Aubert dies.Overcome with grief, both M. St. Aubert and Emily agree to travel, for fresh air would certainly do them good.During their journey, they meet a young man by the name of Valancourt.He is a handsome and chivalrous scholar, and he hits it off not only with M. St. Aubert but with Emily as well.In fact, strong feelings emerge between them.But secrets, danger and evil tear them apart when Montoni, Emily's great-uncle becomes obsessed with her.Add to it strange family secrets, ambiguous characters, a skeleton, disappearances and murders, and you get quite an interconnected gothic tale filled with romance and terror.

First published in 1794, The Mysteries of Udolpho is Ann Radcliffe's second and most popular title in her short writing career.Even though she only wrote three novels, her name is still mentioned among the first novelists to create and mold the gothic genre.The Mysteries of Udolpho is beautiful.The writing draws you in with its picturesque descriptions and gothic atmosphere, not to mention its romantic tones, sprinkled with poetry and sonnets.In many ways, this book is similar to The Romance of the Forest, Radcliffe's first novel, but this one is thicker on plot and suspense.It is also thicker on content, for it is quite long and sometimes the story's pacing is very slow.The rather over-romantic prose with its poems and sonnets got very tedious after a while, but the suspense kept me turning the pages.There are so many twists and turns it is unbelievable, but the author manages to tie all loose ends in due time.All in all, I very much enjoyed The Mysteries of Udolpho.This reminds me of why I love the classics so much.They took the time to create a story, believable or not, and they even managed to research their subjects and time frames (for this book is set during late sixteenth century Europe).They did not have Google or Wikipedia at the time, which means that they had to do their research the hard way: with books, encyclopedias and deep learning.Food for thought for today's historical fiction authors (especially the lazy ones).

Slow and steady
I've only read the first 100 pages of the long novel, but so far so good.It is something to savor.

Sublime enchantment.....
I absolutely fell in love with this book. The prose and use of the english language is breathtaking. It's a long novel (but those are my favourite kind) but it kept me up into the wee hours to see what would happen next.

I have read it many many times, I can just choose a paragraph at radom and fall into her lyrical writing.

The ultimate gothic. READ IT!

I love the picture on the cover of this Dover edition!

weeping, so much weeping
it must have been a 600+ page book with 500 pages of landscapes and 400 pages of crying-i have allowed for time spent crying while looking at landscapes-. all that aside, the story is not bad at all and, the best part, is that all the mysteries are resolved at the end of the book. no loose ends are left. yet, i still cant say that i think it is worth reading in its entirety. for the amount of story Radcliff is trying to tell, she takes an ungodly amount of paper to tell it.

p.s. if you need to know why this book is so important and so many famous authors have read it:
1. it is considered the best work of the lady created the feminine/english gothic genera.
2. it's written like a dream-notice how long it takes to get places and how fast it takes to get back from them. just notice the distance between things as you read. the weather is emotions, the landscape is a foreshadowing, a castle is a secret-and dangerous-full of subterranean tunnels that go to places no one knew were there. every castle has them but no one talks about them.
3. because its a dream, your in someones head, your in there mind. so, it's about being in the mind. no one had ever written a book like it.

Different from standard Gothic fare
First of all, this book is not easy to read in the usual course of novels.It requires concentration and a good knowledge of the English language.Secondly, it's a very intriguing and impelling story.Usually I'm able to finish books in one day, but due to the magnitude and scope of this story, I like to finish this one in smaller bits.I come back to the story again and again, only to find that I'm just as interested as I was when I put the book down initially.

While at times the slightly annoyingly virtuous sentiment of the story can be oft-putting in large doses, it is refreshing in a sense that this book highly suggests mind over matter, rather than the usual emotional excesses of Romantic Gothic fiction.Quite different in this way from the typical Gothic novel, which makes it interesting.Not my personal choice, per se, but interesting and appealing to those who place value on logic and reason as well as the emotions.

(By the way, this Dover "thrift" edition is rather handsome for a bargain-type book.I also have "The Monk" in addition to "The Mysteries of Udolpho.") ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subtitle: Or the Court of Henry Iii. Keeping Festival in Ardenne, a Romance. St. Alban's Abbey, a Metrical Tale: With Some Poetical Pieces; Volume: 1; Original Publisher: H. Colburn; Publication date: 1826; Subjects: Great Britain; Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; History / Europe / Great Britain; Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Literary Criticism / Women Authors; ... Read more

Product Description
King Henry III is holding court at Kenilworth.Festivities abound, wine flows copiously, and spirits are high as the King and his subjects prepare to celebrate the nuptials of Sir Gaston de Blondeville.But the joyous mood is interrupted when a merchant, Hugh Woodreeve, comes distraught before the King to demand justice.His kinsman, he claims, was murdered, by the very man the King has come to honour -- Gaston de Blondeville!Suspecting a conspiracy against Gaston, yet obliged to hold a trial to determine the truth of the allegations, Henry imprisons Woodreeve in a tower while awaiting a hearing.Meanwhile, sinister forces are at work, represented by an evil abbot, who will stop at nothing to ensure the truth behind Woodreeve's claims is never revealed.As the trial unfolds and the danger mounts for both Woodreeve and Gaston, a mysterious figure will come from beyond the grave to elucidate the horrible mystery!The only one of Radcliffe's novels to feature a real ghost, Gaston de Blondeville was published posthumously in 1826.This edition, the first-ever scholarly edition of the novel, features a new introduction by Frances Chiu, uncoding the novel's long-hidden political, historical, and religious contexts.A wealth of supplementary materials, including excerpts from other primary texts and the complete text of contemporary reviews, is also provided to enhance modern readers' understanding of the novel's themes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Mrs. Radcliffe: First Lady of Historical Fiction
Valancourt Books' recent publication of Mrs. Radcliffe's Gaston de Blondeville is a publication long overdue. The novel, originally published in 1826, three years after the mistress of the Gothic's death, was actually written by her in 1803, but then suppressed by her from publication. The general belief is that she disowned the novel, thinking it inferior to her other work; literary historians have also claimed that readers agreed and greeted its publication with little enthusiasm. The primary reason usually given for why it is inferior is that it is the only one of Radcliffe's Gothic novels where she chose to use a real ghost rather than explain what appeared to be supernatural occurrences. The general reader, and especially the student of Gothic and historical fiction, should be allowed to judge the matter for himself and now that Valancourt Books has republished Gaston de Blondeville, that decision can be made.

Gaston de Blondeville, while admittedly not as full of chills and suspense as The Mysteries of Udolpho or The Italian, is a remarkable novel in Radcliffe's canon. It marks a noted departure from her earlier novels, and in many ways, it displays her growth and restraint as an author. Considering all her previous novels were published between the time she was twenty-five and thirty-three, a remarkably young age for someone to write three of the greatest Gothic novels of all time, as well as a couple inferior ones, it is not surprising that Radcliffe sought to move in a new direction in her work. Gaston de Blondeville was the beginning of her growth in that new direction, and had she written another like it, readers may have had a real treat in an even greater Radcliffe.

My only criticism of Valancourt Books' edition of Gaston de Blondeville--which is filled with a superb collection of secondary sources and an impressive scholarly introduction by Frances Chiu to reflect the historical and political influences of the French Revolution upon the novel--is that no attempt is made in these supplementary materials to explain why Radcliffe made this departure from her past use of rational explanations for supposed supernatural occurrences. I believe that departure is the big question that must be answered about this novel, especially since Radcliffe was otherwise striving to be more realistic from a historical standpoint.

Despite what is typically said about Gaston de Blondeville by literary historians, the six contemporary reviews provided in this edition are largely favorable. In her introduction, Frances Chiu quotes these reviews to argue that literary critics condemned the novel, but in truth, only one review is solidly negative while the rest express great enthusiasm for a new work by Mrs. Radcliffe. Chiu quotes La Belle Assemblee as saying "it is without the lofty pretensions of some of Mrs. Radcliffe's earlier productions, and incapable of exciting an equal intenseness of interest" but Chiu fails to quote what comes directly after: "it will not in the slightest degree detract from the fame of her" and "it will be read with great satisfaction by every reader of taste." Scots Magazine was pleased that the novel does not include so much of her poetry which is not remarkable at all, and overall feels the novel is an improvement on her earlier work because "She avoided long particulars of rural scenery, and tedious trackings of the agitated mind, from one terrible or sorrowful imagination to another." In fact, the only review that is truly negative is the Monthly Review, which does find parts of the work to praise but chiefly objects to its use of the supernatural.

Why Radcliffe decided to include supernatural events as a reality has not been given a good explanation. Perhaps she felt the supernatural was more acceptable to the reading public by the earlier nineteenth century, nearly fifteen years after she wrote her first Gothic novel. While she may have been in competition with other Gothic writers, her contemporaries, such as Matthew Lewis in The Monk (1795) and William Godwin in St. Leon (1799), were not beyond using the supernatural as a possibility, so perhaps she need no longer provide rational explanations for supernatural events. Greater study is needed of how the view toward the supernatural changed and became acceptable in literature, especially during this period as the "Age of Reason" was replaced by the horrors of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

What I find more remarkable about Gaston de Blondeville than Radcliffe's use of the supernatural is that it is one of the earliest historical fiction novels. Sir Walter Scott is often credited with being the first major writer of historical fiction, but historical fiction certainly has its roots in Gothic novels with their typically medieval settings. The difference between Gothic and historical fiction is the concentration on a much more realistic historical world. The Gothic typically sets its novels in a more vaguely historical period or avoids attention to historic detail. A key component to historical fiction is the depiction of historical events and historical personages in the background of the novel, such as the Battle of Culloden as the background to Scott's Waverley (1814). If that is true, then I would argue that Radcliffe is our first true female historical novelist since Gaston de Blondeville, although not published until 1826, was written in 1803, a full six years before Jane Porter's The Scottish Chiefs (1809), that tremendous novel about Sir William Wallace, and only three years after Godwin's St. Leon (1799) which only really attains historical fiction status due to its including the historical character of Bethlem Gabor in its pages. (Arguments have been made that Clara Reeve is the first female writer of historical fiction, but I don't feel her work is historically detailed enough to merit such a claim). Radcliffe is far more historically detailed than Godwin in her descriptions of the court of Henry III and in the details she provides of that age of chivalry, tournaments, and medieval monasteries. While her novel may not have had the influence on historical fiction that Scott's works did, and therefore, she may not be the mother of historical fiction, not having led to the birth of similar historical works, as she was for Gothic novels, she certainly is the aunt, who has been kept like a skeleton in the closet, while Gaston de Blondeville has been treated as if it were better not to be talked about it, lest it ruin the Mistress of Gothic Literature's good name.

I encourage all lovers of Gothic and historical fiction to read Gaston de Blondeville to make up their own minds. I personally find the novel a much more concise, controlled and mature work, and if not as fascinating and suspenseful as her previous works, one that deserves further attention. If Mrs. Radcliffe had written and published a couple more historical novels after Gaston de Blondeville, I have no doubt she would have rivaled Sir Walter Scott for his dominant place as a writer of historical fiction. As always, I commend Valancourt Books for preserving our literary heritage by printing such important and overlooked works of literature.

- Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. in British Literature, author of Iron Pioneers, The Queen City, and Superior Heritage. For MQT REVIEWS www.MarquetteFiction.com

The only Radcliffe novel with a real ghost!
I am with the publisher, Valancourt Books, and wanted to post this description from the book's back cover, since Amazon has not done so:

King Henry III is holding court at Kenilworth.Festivities abound, wine flows copiously, and spirits are high as the King and his subjects prepare to celebrate the nuptials of Sir Gaston de Blondeville.But the joyous mood is interrupted when a merchant, Hugh Woodreeve, comes distraught before the King to demand justice.His kinsman, he claims, was murdered, by the very man the King has come to honour -- Gaston de Blondeville!
Suspecting a conspiracy against Gaston, yet obliged to hold a trial to determine the truth of the allegations, Henry imprisons Woodreeve in a tower while awaiting a hearing.Meanwhile, sinister forces are at work, represented by an evil abbot, who will stop at nothing to ensure the truth behind Woodreeve's claims is never revealed.
As the trial unfolds and the danger mounts for both Woodreeve and Gaston, a mysterious figure will come from beyond the grave to elucidate the horrible mystery!
The only one of Radcliffe's novels to feature a real ghost, Gaston de Blondeville was published posthumously in 1826.This edition, the first-ever scholarly edition of the novel, features a new introduction by Frances Chiu, uncoding the novel's long-hidden political, historical, and religious contexts.A wealth of supplementary materials, including excerpts from other primary texts and the complete text of contemporary reviews, is also provided to enhance modern readers' understanding of the novel's themes. ... Read more

Product Description
After the death of her parents, Emily St. Aubert leaves her beloved home to live with her aunt, a woman of much money and less sense. The marriage of Emily's aunt to a mysterious Italian begins a series of journeys that take Emily across the rugged beauty of the Alps to the wonders of 16th century Venice and then to an isolated and foreboding castle in the Apennines, where she must struggle against the malignant schemes of her aunt's husband and her own fearful imaginings. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Volume: 3-4; Original Publisher: H. C. Carey and I. Lean; Publication date: 1826; Subjects: Great Britain; Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subtitle: Through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany, With a Return Down the Rhine; to Which Are Added, Observations During a Tour to the Lakes of Lancashire, Westmoreland, and Cumberland; Original Publisher: Printed by W. Porter for P. Wogan; Publication date: 1795; Subjects: Europe; Lake District (England); Lake District (Eng.); History / Europe / Germany; Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Travel / Europe / General; Travel / Europe / Germany; Travel / Europe / Great Britain; Travel / Essays ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more