⇒ PDF Free The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne The World Classics Ann Radcliffe Alison Milbank Books

The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne The World Classics Ann Radcliffe Alison Milbank Books

Download As PDF : The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne The World Classics Ann Radcliffe Alison Milbank Books

The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne The World Classics Ann Radcliffe Alison Milbank Books

I'm a longtime fan of Gothic novels, even though many of them leave a lot to be desired. The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne is hard to find, and for those who enjoy the genre, the low price of the Kindle version makes it worthwhile. Nevertheless, "Castles" is very heavy reading, in spite of its relatively short length. It is definitely overburdened with a heavy dose of the sublime, willing suspension of disbelief, and fainting, mindless women. Those who can handle having their intelligence insulted--over and over again--will be pleased to add this to their Gothic bucket list, but those who can't will surely find this book to be a waste of time and money.


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The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne The World Classics Ann Radcliffe Alison Milbank Books Reviews

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.
"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.
The novel is not Ann Radcliff's best, but still good. The printing of this book sucks. Weird font, the letter N appears randomly on most pages. Cheaply done, I like a little history, biography, or introduction to classic books. No info on when it was originally published. I'm guessing late 1700s.

The story concerns romance and captivity in two different castles with secret passages in Scotland. Very melodramatic, and just when things are nicely wrapped up, another complication develops. This book has Roman numeral page numbers and goes for 103 pages.
I'm a longtime fan of Gothic novels, even though many of them leave a lot to be desired. The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne is hard to find, and for those who enjoy the genre, the low price of the version makes it worthwhile. Nevertheless, "Castles" is very heavy reading, in spite of its relatively short length. It is definitely overburdened with a heavy dose of the sublime, willing suspension of disbelief, and fainting, mindless women. Those who can handle having their intelligence insulted--over and over again--will be pleased to add this to their Gothic bucket list, but those who can't will surely find this book to be a waste of time and money.