Five Gothic Masterpieces

9 Jul 1764 – 7 Feb 1823

Ann Radcliffe (born Ann Ward, 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English author and pioneer of Gothic fiction. Her technique of explaining apparently supernatural elements in her novels has been credited with gaining Gothic fiction respectability in the 1790s. Radcliffe was the most popular writer of her day and almost universally admired; contemporary critics called her the mighty enchantress and the Shakespeare of romance-writers, and her popularity continued through the 19th century. Interest has revived in the early 21st century, with the publication of paperback reprints and three biographies. **Source**: [Ann Radcliffe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Radcliffe) on Wikipedia.

1863-03-03 – 1947-12-15

30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. ([Source][1].) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley