Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), a prolific English author well-known for her novel The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), can be described as "one of the founders of Gothic fiction" (Townshend). Among Radcliffe's other famous works is The Romance of the Forest (1791). Despite its publication after Susannah Minifie Gunning's Barford Abbey (1768), this novel possesses key themes that can be connected to not only the history and development of the gothic genre and novel but parts of Barford Abbey's plot. Radcliffe's writing style was notable for its blending of Romantic literature's traditional sensibility with terror and suspense. We get a distinct emphasis on mystery in The Romance of the Forest excerpts included in our Northanger Abbey (1817) Appendix C. The following line reveals the importance of mysticism within her character's actions and curiosity: "'A mystery seems to hang over these chambers,' said she, 'which it is perhaps my lot to develop; I will, at least, see to what that door leads" (Radcliffe 137). These sentences not only contribute to the specific setting of this novel about France in the 17th-century (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica) but connect back to the sense of mystery that permeates the plot of Barford Abbey. One can therefore make the assumption that most gothic novels were formed around the idea of the unknown. Radcliffe specifically focused on "an omnipresent sense of mystery and obscurity over the certainties of fast-paced action, and by mere hints and suggestions of ghostly activity over fully realised manifestations of the supernatural" (Townshend). While there aren't any ghosts in her novel, Gunning similarly employs suspense involving Fanny's "drowning," which results in a big misunderstanding rather than actual death. Both of these novels end similarly as well, with discoveries of advantageous family connections and marriage. On the whole, Radcliffe's The Romance of the Forest and various other writings impacted the genre of gothic fiction through their particular style and her impact on other authors, such as Jane Austen (as we have read)a, who would emerge on the scene to follow in Radcliffe's footsteps.

Radcliffe, Ann. The Romance of the Forest. Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, 1872.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Ann Radcliffe.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Mar. 2021, www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Radcliffe-English-author.

Townshend, Dale. “An Introduction to Ann Radcliffe.” The British Library, The British Library, 22 Sept. 2014, www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/an-introduction-to-ann-radcl....