The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne

Is there any better fuel for a novel than wronged characters and wicked revenge?

From the midst of the cult of sensibility, Ann Radcliffe rose with her very own poignant style to write her first gothic novel and hugely formative "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" (1789).

Set in the Scottish Highlands, it tells the story of two castles: one belonging to the kind and goodhearted Matilda and her children, the other to the evil Baron Malcolm. The young heir Osbert seeks revenge against Malcolm who is responsible for the death of Osbert’s father.

The novel is a quest for family honour, love, and vengeance where romantic passion and dangerous escapades intertwine until the very end.


Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) was a British fiction writer, best known for her pioneering role in the English gothic tradition. She married a journalist and in his long absences, she began to write. Her works exhibit a preference for exotic and sinister places, where her female protagonists often suffer supernatural occurrences. Her best known novels include "The Mysteries of Udolpho", "The Italian", and "A Sicilian Romance".