Ann Radcliffe
| Ann Radcliffe | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
9 July 1764 Holborn, London, England |
| Died | 7 February 1823 (aged 58) |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | English |
| Genre | Gothic |
Ann Radcliffe (née Ward, 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English author and pioneer of the Gothic novel. Her style is Romantic in its vivid descriptions of landscapes and long travel scenes, yet the Gothic element is obvious through her use of the supernatural. It was her technique, "the explained supernatural" as the final revelation of inexplicable phenomena, which helped the Gothic novel achieve respectability in the 1790s.
Little is known of Ann Radcliffe's life. In 1823, the year of her death, the Edinburgh Review, said: "She never appeared in public, nor mingled in private society, but kept herself apart, like the sweet bird that sings its solitary notes, shrouded and unseen."Christina Rossetti attempted to write a biography of her, but abandoned it for lack of information.
According to Ruth Facer, "Physically, she was said to be 'exquisitely proportioned' – quite short, complexion beautiful 'as was her whole countenance, especially her eyes, eyebrows and mouth.'"
Radcliffe was born Ann Ward in Holborn, London, on 9 July 1764. Her father was William Ward, a haberdasher, who later moved to Bath to manage a china shop. Her mother was Ann Oates. Radcliffe occasionally lived with her Uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea. Bentley is best known for his partnership with his fellow Unitarian, Josiah Wedgewood, maker of the famous Wedgewood china. Sukey, Wedgewood’s daughter, also stayed in Chelsea and is Radcliffe’s only known childhood companion. Sukey later married Dr Robert Darwin and had a son, Charles Darwin. Although mixing in some distinguished circles, Radcliffe seems to have made little impression in this society and was described by Wedgewood as “Bentley’s shy niece”.
In 1787, she married the Oxford graduate and journalist William Radcliffe, part-owner and editor of the English Chronicle. He often came home late, and to occupy her time she began to write, and read her work to him when he returned. Theirs was a childless, but seemingly happy, marriage. Radcliffe called him her "nearest relative and friend." The money she earned from her novels later allowed them to travel together, along with their dog, Chance. In her final years, Radcliffe retreated from public life and was rumoured to have become insane as a result of her writing. Ann died on the 7th February 1823 and was buried in a vault in the Chapel of Ease at St George’s in Hanover Square, Bayswater, London. Although she had suffered from asthma for twelve years previously, her modern biographer, Rictor Norton, cites the description given by her physician, Dr Scudamore, of how “a new inflammation seized the membranes of the brain” which led to “violent symptoms” and argues her symptoms suggest a “bronchial infection, leading to pneumonia, high fever, delirium and death.”
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