Ann Radcliffe and Romantic Culture | A lecture by Professor Michael Gamer

In the final decade of the eighteenth century, Ann Radcliffe revolutionized the British novel, creating a new psychological fiction of suspense that would come to be called “the Radcliffe school.” Blending travel and terror, poetry and adventure, her writing was more than merely popular; it made her a sensation across media.

Radcliffe novels were adapted by dramatists for the stage; her poems were set to music by composers; and her most famous scenes reimagined visually by artists. Jane Austen and John Keats loved her works; Walter Scott and Charles Dickens found early inspiration in her scenes of terror and dread.

In this episode, Professor Michael Gamer discusses Radcliffe’s life, writing, and the astounding influence she had on Romantic writing and culture.