“The Gothic tradition was begun by Ann Radcliffe, a rare example of a woman creating an artistic style.” ―Camille Paglia

 Ann Radcliffe | Nick Groom

Ann Radcliffe, née Ann Ward, (born July 9, 1764, London, England—died February 7, 1823, London), the most representative of English Gothic novelists. She stands apart in her ability to infuse scenes of terror and suspense with an aura of romantic sensibility.

“My dear sir,’ said Emily, timidly, ‘what mean those tears?’—they speak, I fear, another language—they plead for me.”

“Emily gazed with melancholy awe upon the castle, which she understood to be Montoni's; for, though it was now lighted up by the setting sun, the gothic greatness of its features, and its mouldering walls of dark grey stone, rendered it a gloomy and sublime object. As she gazed, the light died away on its walls, leaving a melancholy purple tint, which spread deeper and deeper, as the thin vapour crept up the mountain, while the battlements above were still tipped with splendour. From those, too, the rays soon faded, and the whole edifice was invested with the solemn duskiness of evening. Silent, lonely, and sublime, it seemed to stand the sovereign of the scene, and to frown defiance on all, who dared to invade its solitary reign. As the twilight deepened, its features became more awful in obscurity, and Emily continued to gaze, till its clustering towers were alone seen, rising over the tops of the woods, beneath whose thick shade the carriages soon after began to ascend.”
― Ann radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

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