It’s Monday! What are you Reading? – The Mysteries of Udolpho

Last Monday that I was giving The Mysteries of Uldolpho another shot and I am happy to announce that I finished the novel. It was a struggle, while the main story is interesting it’s all the extras included in the novel that make it an uphill climb. 

Reading this novel gives me a better appreciation of Jane’s works, especially Northanger Abbey. We are told that NA is a satire of Anne Radcliffe’s novels and Catherine reads MoU while in Bath.  A lot of what I read in the novel can be seen in NA and Jane had a way of writing it so it came across as a bit over the top while I feel Anne wrote it in a more serious but not too serious of a tone. There is a lot of jumping to conclusion about strange goings on and mysterious deaths, secret passage ways and connections between characters with long overdue explanations.   There is probably also one too many plot lines, but thankfully none are left dangling at the end of the novel.