1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

E. J. CLERY (ESSAY DATE 2000)

SOURCE: Clery, E. J. "Joanna Baillie and Charlotte Dacre." In Women's Gothic: From Clara Reeve to Mary Shelley, pp. 85-116. Devon, United Kingdom: Northcote House in Association with the British Council, 2000.

In the following excerpt, Clery surveys Baillie's Gothic dramas, particularly De Monfort and Orra.

In 1798, the year after Radcliffe bowed out of the literary scene, a volume was published anonymously with the arresting title A Series of Plays: In Which It Is Attempted to Delineate the Stronger Passions of the Mind. The contents did not disappoint. There was an 'Introductory Discourse' outlining not only a grandiose scheme for the analysis of each passion in a paired tragedy and comedy, but also a radical theory for regenerating dramatic writing. The three plays themselves were judged to be masterly; particularly the tragedies, De...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Primary Sources
   1. Joanna Baillie (Essay Date 1798)
4. General Commentary
   1. E. J. Clery (Essay Date 2000)
5. Title Commentary
   1. Plays on the Passions
   2. Witchcraft
6. Further Reading