Wheeee, 19th century trash novels!

I’ve ordered The Veiled Picture and will write up a review in April, time permitting. Having slogged through read Udolpho a couple of times, I’m curious to learn how The Veiled Picture compares. It may be a handy shortcut to catch and understand all the Northanger Abbey references.

Robert — I see that Valancourt is looking for editors, and for Regina Roche specialists in particular. It wouldn’t hurt to ask them if they are hoping to publish an edition of The Children of the Abbey in the future. If nothing else, an inquiry would let them know there’s an interest out there for the book.

Thank you for reminding me about the Valcourt re-prints with your review. I meant to buy them and completely forgot. I must remedy that.

My JA book group read Cecilia by Fanny Burney last month. It was similar to Radcliffe in its snarkworthiness, though I enjoyed it tremendously and can see why Jane Austen loved it so. The heroine was a bit too perfect for my taste (she both swoons AND runs mad; a real multi-tasker) but there were some really hilarious minor characters and scenes that were reminiscent of Austen’s best stuff. I was astonished at the similarities to P&P. It was obvious that Jane was heavily influenced by Cecilia when she wrote P&P, and of course the title itself was taken from the last chapter of the book. I saw hints of S&S and even NA in there, too.

The Austen scholar who wants to understand her literary influences would be well-advised to read the books that Jane read rather than trying to parse her letters for hidden meanings. I think I’ll be getting these Gothic novels, though I don’t know when I’ll get to read them.