Jane Austen Enthusiast Reads & Reviews The Mysteries of Udolpho

[@williamisley1880]

I just finished reading Udolpho. I very much enjoyed your "rambling" discussion and also felt that it was a real drag until they got to Udolpho, although it was better in Venice than the sections before. I did get irritated with Emily's fainting and weeping and began to wonder whether she ever had a good night's sleep! In defense of her going with her aunt and not eloping with Valancourt, the culture of that time didn't leave a lot of opportunity for a young woman to choose her own mate. It did make me angry how they treated her. Thanks again for the fun exposition.

[@ismene6546]

Mysteries of Udolpho is a fun read. But there are lots of parts that dragged on, I kept waiting for parts of the story to move again. It would make a fun BBC series!

[@DeafSparrow]

OMG yeah. The first like 1/4 DRAGS with all the tears and sentimentalism. You only get the actual Udolpho for a brief spell, but it's enjoyable by that part imo.

[@catherinepatterson4720]

This was a good overview of the ‘Mysteries of Udolpho’, so much so I’ve just bought the book online. I look forward to reading it. Thank you for the inspiration 📚📖

[@BookishPrincess]

Thanks, hope you enjoy it!

[@catherinepatterson4720]

@@BookishPrincess 🙂📖

[@PrincessLessons]

I’ve tried to read The Mysteries of Udolpho several times, but I always end up putting it down. This definitely makes me want to stick with it long enough to get to the interesting parts!

[@LostinTimeWithKatie]

It was great hearing your thoughts! I read The Mysteries of Udolpho a few years ago and I found it to be such a fun read ☺️📖

[@the_bookish_took5348]

I started this a few years ago but set it aside somewhere in volume 2! I keep meaning to get back to it and you're making me want to give it another go. I remember loving how they met Valancourt. The only other book of hers I've read was A Sicilian Romance-it's much shorter and really a lot of fun! It also reminded me a little bit of Northanger Abbey!

[@BookishPrincess]

I'd like to try another Ann Radcliffe sometime, I will look that one up!

[@reader4532]

Such a fun discussion. I gave up on Udolpho years ago due to what I remember as Emily's constant weeping. Does she weep a fair amount? Maybe it's the fainting I'm remembering. Anyway, this does give me the urge to revisit Miss Moreland's adventures soon.

[@GinaBlythe]

Nice to know that am not the only one annoyed by this!

[@BookishPrincess]

I guess there was quite a bit of weeping at the beginning but (spoiler alert for anybody who hasn't read it yet) that was when her parents died so I felt like it was understandable. She does shape up as you get further into the story, by the end she's even starting to resist the impulse to faint on every occasion. 😂

[@GinaBlythe]

@@BookishPrincess Only I lost a parent and cry? Haven't in 23 years and we were close. Shows how times change! 🤣

[@LJernegan]

I should pick this up again. I read a good portion of it a couple of years ago. The Italian is the only Radcliffe I have finished. I loved it. There are nuns, bad guys, and even the Spanish Inquisition. It is so good.

[@the.whimsical.bookworm]

I stopped watching to avoid spoilers haha, because I want to read this soon! It might be the perfect book to pick up this October, do you think? :)

[@BookishPrincess]

Hope you enjoy it! It would be fun for October, just be prepared for the slow start, lol.

[@elizabethgardner6832]

I've been meaning to read this and will now give it a try but one question: Ingenuous or ingenious? They look very similar.

[@BookishPrincess]

Ahh I was getting them confused! Ingenuous was the word in the book. Ingenious is in fact its own word meaning clever, whereas ingenuous (pronounced differently) means innocent.

[@ScottShedd123]

I hear that "The Monk" is more shocking than Udolpho 🤭

[@CathleenMJennings80]

What chapter would you say the story "gets good?"

[@solarbreeze69]

Love and Freindship? cover title is spelled wrong in the opening clip

[@GinaBlythe]

It's only taken me 4 years to read it...and I am still NOT halfway to halfway done! Thanks for this. Maybe I will pick it up again...but I DISLIKE Emily...

[@BookishPrincess]

I can see why people would dislike Emily, but in the end she won me over! Once the story gets going about a third of the way through there are so many great twists and turns to the plot. 😄

[@ellie698]

Wasn't it ingenuous she was saying? Completely different word and meaning 😁