- Paperback: 146 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New edition edition (1 April 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192823574
- ISBN-13: 978-0192823571
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 11.2 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,145,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne (1789) marked the arrival of a unique talent. It was Ann Radcliffe's first attempt at fiction, and its feuds, cases of mistaken identity, and background of castles and the `sublime' landscape pointed the way forward to the Gothic fantasies of her later years. Set in the Middle Ages against the melancholy beauty of mountains and rugged coasts of the Scottish Highlands, the novel describes the internecine feuds of the warring clan chieftains of Athlin and Dunbayne. Low-born clansman Alleyn pursues his quest for love and honour, helping to rescue Osbert of Athlin and falling in love with Osbert's sister Mary. Breakneck pursuits alternate with scenes of passionate feeling, and the castle itself, in all its romantic sublimity, becomes the true focal point of the novel. Long out of print, this edition of The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne makes all five novels published in Radcliffe's lifetime available to the modern reader. This book is intended for students (third-year undergraduate and postgraduate) studying eighteenth-century literature, Gothic literature, women writers.
About the Author
Ann Radcliffe was born Ann Ward. She married William Radcliffe. They had no children, and with her husband's encouragement, she wrote fiction to amuse herself. Her ""Gothic"" novels, which were extremely popular, tend to involve innocent but heroic young women who find themselves in gloomy, mysterious castles at the mercy of complicated men. They influenced Sir Walter Scott and were parodied by Jane Austen. Radcliffe died in 1823 pneumonia.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Packs quite a lot of plot into its short length, it becomes almost soap opera at some points. An interesting, entertaining read with plenty of dark passages, underground tunnels and lusty villains.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
A Good Taste of Radcliffe
11 May 1999
Format:Paperback
Interested in a gothic novel but not quite ready to plunge headfirst into "The Mysteries of Udolpho"? Ann Radcliffe's short novel "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne", provides the perfect first taste of a gothic novel. I first read Radcliffe after reading Austen's "Northanger Abby", which contains refrences to "Udolpho". I instantly became facinated by her work and have subsequently read most of her novels. Reading Radcliffe is definately an experience worth trying, and I reccomend "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" as an excellent place to start.
One must not judge the gothic novel with the same standards as any work with more literary merit. The plots are trite, the devices are overused, the language is overblown, and the characters are decididly one dimensional. However, this is what is so great about Radcliffe. All of her work is throughly entertaining, highly amusing to a modern reader, and a source of excellent new vocabulary.
"The Castles Of Athlin and Dunbayne" is no exception. It only differs from Radcliffe's other work in two aspects: it is short (slightly over 100 pages), and it is set in Britian, not mainland Europe. Although it is her first novel and does not achieve the same greatness as later works, such as "Udolpho", it is still worth reading. The story centers around Mary, a Scottish nobelwoman, and her love affair with the low-born, but ever honorable Allyn. It contains an astounding number of chases across dark moors, mysterious noises, escapes from dungones, and passionate exchanges of lover's vows for its small size. What makes the novel so amusing and enjoyable is Radcliffe's serious, fervent tone as she earnestly describes the contrived and trite situations in the novel.
I am quite a fan of Radcliffe and admire her greatly for the prescedent she set in the history of fiction. "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" is an entertaing read and a wonderful example of the gothic novel.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The Signs to Come
20 Jan 2010
Format:Paperback
"The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" was Ann Radcliffe's first novel and has long been out of print. It is set in the Middle Ages and follows the intertwining paths of two noble families in constant battle with each other. This early work certainly set the stage for Radcliffe's later work - especially her Gothic masterpiece, "The Romance of the Forest."
Set in the highlands of Scotland, the novel begins with a battle between the chieftains of the two warring families. On one side of the fray is Alleyn, a poor young man who falls hopelessly in love with Mary, the daughter of the Athlin family, knowing that they could never be together because of his lowborn position. On the other side is the evil Baron of Dunbayne, whose family is responsible for the murder of the Lord of Athlin (the main cause of the dispute between the families). Soldiers from Dunbayne capture in turn both Mary and her brother Osbert, and each must fight to save their lives as well as those of the ones they have fallen in love with. Of course, with a Gothic novel, nothing could be straightforward and Radcliffe filled her novel with numerous schemes, several kidnappings, near death experiences, nefarious plots and a long-lost heir returned to glory - a tall order to fill in 113 pages.
"The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne", while a short and rather fast-paced read, is also rather confusing. Radcliffe switched from character to character with little distinction between their actions or thoughts. The initial problems between the families can be difficult to sort out since she used names instead of titles. One fight follows another with no time to recover from the last. The story follows a rather predictable outcome, but is filled with the typical Gothic archetypes that roots Radcliffe's romance. Surely this publishing of her early work is a treasure for literature lovers, but it is far from Radcliffe's best work. Still, it is interesting to see how her work progressed from this early attempt to her later novels.
Set in the highlands of Scotland, the novel begins with a battle between the chieftains of the two warring families. On one side of the fray is Alleyn, a poor young man who falls hopelessly in love with Mary, the daughter of the Athlin family, knowing that they could never be together because of his lowborn position. On the other side is the evil Baron of Dunbayne, whose family is responsible for the murder of the Lord of Athlin (the main cause of the dispute between the families). Soldiers from Dunbayne capture in turn both Mary and her brother Osbert, and each must fight to save their lives as well as those of the ones they have fallen in love with. Of course, with a Gothic novel, nothing could be straightforward and Radcliffe filled her novel with numerous schemes, several kidnappings, near death experiences, nefarious plots and a long-lost heir returned to glory - a tall order to fill in 113 pages.
"The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne", while a short and rather fast-paced read, is also rather confusing. Radcliffe switched from character to character with little distinction between their actions or thoughts. The initial problems between the families can be difficult to sort out since she used names instead of titles. One fight follows another with no time to recover from the last. The story follows a rather predictable outcome, but is filled with the typical Gothic archetypes that roots Radcliffe's romance. Surely this publishing of her early work is a treasure for literature lovers, but it is far from Radcliffe's best work. Still, it is interesting to see how her work progressed from this early attempt to her later novels.
Early Romance
15 Aug 2005
Format:Hardcover
This book is one of the earliest examples of the romantic novel. The plot was original for its time, though certainly nothing new today. It is completely predictable. Nevertheless, it is interesting as a study of English literature and the development of the novel. This was Radcliffe's first novel, and became the model for many of her later works, as well as the works of many other novel writers.
This book is very plot-driven. The characters are flat, and dialogue or character thought is almost completely non existant. The action in the story leads the text. It also contains the typical hero/heroine relationship; the men, in accordance to the time this book was written, do all the fighting and rescuing, while the women sit at home, unable to do anything but worry and faint.
This book is very plot-driven. The characters are flat, and dialogue or character thought is almost completely non existant. The action in the story leads the text. It also contains the typical hero/heroine relationship; the men, in accordance to the time this book was written, do all the fighting and rescuing, while the women sit at home, unable to do anything but worry and faint.
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