Ann Radcliffe is an English novelist born on July 9, 1764 in London, England. Little is known of Radcliffe’s early life except for that fact that she was the daughter of a haberdasher and therefore resided in a fairly middle-class household. At age 24, she married William Radcliffe, a journalist at The English Chronicle. Her private life into adulthood was largely secretive as well, so there are no biographies that extensively detail her personal happenings. In 1789, she published her debut novel entitled The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne, a Gothic story that garnered Radcliffe a great deal of attention in the literary world.
In 1791, Ann Radcliffe released her third novel, The Romance of the Forest, which tells the story of Pierre de la Motte and his wife Constance who leave their home of Paris to escape from creditors who are hoping to imprison him. The novel, split up into three volumes, depicts the moral dilemmas Pierre and Constance must endure as they evade prosecutors. The Romance of the Forest established Radcliffe as the prominent Gothic writer of the day. Gothic literature is known for its gloomy portrayals of death and suffering, which is a staple of reading a typical Radcliffe work.
Upon its publication, The Romance of the Forest received positive reviews from audiences and critics for being a quintessential piece of Gothic fiction. However, it is not recognized as one of her best pieces, a title that often goes to The Italian or The Mysteries of Udolpho. Nevertheless, it remains as a piece of literature that is critically studied and discussed to this day.
