Ann Radcliffe and Women's Gothic Writing | A lecture by Dr Deborah Russell

Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) was “the great enchantress” of her generation, in the words of Thomas de Quincey. She changed the face of fiction in the Romantic period and shaped the development of Gothic romance. The extraordinary impact of her work also helped to cement an association between this genre and women writers and readers.

But, of course, Radcliffe was far from the only woman writing Gothic fiction in the formative early days of the genre. This lecture will explore Radcliffe’s career in the context of the other women who inspired her, imitated her, and contested her vision of the Gothic.