Customer Reviews

The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne (Oxford World's Classics)

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Interested in a gothic novel but not quite ready to plunge headfirst into "The Mysteries of Udolpho"? Ann Radcliffe's short novel "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne", provides the perfect first taste of a gothic novel. I first read Radcliffe after reading Austen's "Northanger Abby", which contains refrences to "Udolpho". I instantly became facinated by her work and have subsequently read most of her novels. Reading Radcliffe is definately an experience worth trying, and I reccomend "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" as an excellent place to start.

One must not judge the gothic novel with the same standards as any work with more literary merit. The plots are trite, the devices are overused, the language is overblown, and the characters are decididly one dimensional. However, this is what is so great about Radcliffe. All of her work is throughly entertaining, highly amusing to a modern reader, and a source of excellent new vocabulary.

"The Castles Of Athlin and Dunbayne" is no exception. It only differs from Radcliffe's other work in two aspects: it is short (slightly over 100 pages), and it is set in Britian, not mainland Europe. Although it is her first novel and does not achieve the same greatness as later works, such as "Udolpho", it is still worth reading. The story centers around Mary, a Scottish nobelwoman, and her love affair with the low-born, but ever honorable Allyn. It contains an astounding number of chases across dark moors, mysterious noises, escapes from dungones, and passionate exchanges of lover's vows for its small size. What makes the novel so amusing and enjoyable is Radcliffe's serious, fervent tone as she earnestly describes the contrived and trite situations in the novel.

I am quite a fan of Radcliffe and admire her greatly for the prescedent she set in the history of fiction. "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" is an entertaing read and a wonderful example of the gothic novel.

"The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" was Ann Radcliffe's first novel and has long been out of print. It is set in the Middle Ages and follows the intertwining paths of two noble families in constant battle with each other. This early work certainly set the stage for Radcliffe's later work - especially her Gothic masterpiece, "The Romance of the Forest."

Set in the highlands of Scotland, the novel begins with a battle between the chieftains of the two warring families. On one side of the fray is Alleyn, a poor young man who falls hopelessly in love with Mary, the daughter of the Athlin family, knowing that they could never be together because of his lowborn position. On the other side is the evil Baron of Dunbayne, whose family is responsible for the murder of the Lord of Athlin (the main cause of the dispute between the families). Soldiers from Dunbayne capture in turn both Mary and her brother Osbert, and each must fight to save their lives as well as those of the ones they have fallen in love with. Of course, with a Gothic novel, nothing could be straightforward and Radcliffe filled her novel with numerous schemes, several kidnappings, near death experiences, nefarious plots and a long-lost heir returned to glory - a tall order to fill in 113 pages.

"The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne", while a short and rather fast-paced read, is also rather confusing. Radcliffe switched from character to character with little distinction between their actions or thoughts. The initial problems between the families can be difficult to sort out since she used names instead of titles. One fight follows another with no time to recover from the last. The story follows a rather predictable outcome, but is filled with the typical Gothic archetypes that roots Radcliffe's romance. Surely this publishing of her early work is a treasure for literature lovers, but it is far from Radcliffe's best work. Still, it is interesting to see how her work progressed from this early attempt to her later novels.

This book is one of the earliest examples of the romantic novel. The plot was original for its time, though certainly nothing new today. It is completely predictable. Nevertheless, it is interesting as a study of English literature and the development of the novel. This was Radcliffe's first novel, and became the model for many of her later works, as well as the works of many other novel writers.
This book is very plot-driven. The characters are flat, and dialogue or character thought is almost completely non existant. The action in the story leads the text. It also contains the typical hero/heroine relationship; the men, in accordance to the time this book was written, do all the fighting and rescuing, while the women sit at home, unable to do anything but worry and faint.

The Earl of Athlin was betrayed and killed by his envious neighbor Malcolm, the Baron of Dunbayne, 12 years ago. Fearing to endanger her people and the lives of her young children, the Earl's wife, Matilda, has kept out of the way of Malcolm, staying near to her castle and holding back the anger of her subjects. After 12 years, the Earl's son, Osbert, is now 19 years old, and can no longer be held back by his mother. In a surprise attack just as cowardly as that of Malcolm upon his father, he attempts to storm Dunbayne Castle without warning or a declaration of war. Unfortunately, for this overconfident and pompous youth, Malcolm saw it coming, and captures the dumb would-be Earl. Malcolm also has a healthy lust for Osbert's sister, Mary, and demands that she marry him in exchange for her brother's life. Most of the book is concerned with the effort to free Osbert from the Baron's clutches. These attempts are mainly made by the peasant Alleyn, whose bravery and martial skills more than make up for his social standing, well, at least in my eyes.

This short novel has all the devices of the Gothic novel, including dark and gloomy castles, depressed characters, and adventure. But one of the things that stood out to me was the class system which wreaks of injustice. Osbert, the supposed hero of the tale, is always looking down on his best friend, Alleyn, even though his life has been saved by him. He's supposed to be this paragon of virtue and yet he does not think he is good enough for his sister. Everyone has the same blood and this is a good reason that the American and French Revolutions took place. To remind us that we are all created equal. The characters all seemed kind of bumbling and if it wasn't for the fact that they find secret doors of escape in every room they're imprisoned in, or the fact that every guard they encounter kneels before their moral superiority, they wouldn't have got very far. They make the gang in Scooby Doo look deep! You can also see some of the solutions to the mysteries of the novel long before Radcliffe reveals them. It was entertaining though, and she was successful in creating mood and atmosphere, but don't look for anything but a comic book plot here.