Editing Ann Radcliffe (section)

=== Early life ===
Radcliffe was born Ann Ward in [[Holborn]], London on 9 July 1764.{{sfn|Miles|2005}} She was the only child of William Ward (1737–1798) and Ann Oates (1726–1800).{{sfn|Rogers|1996|p=3}} At the time of her birth, her father owned a [[haberdashery]] shop in London.{{Sfn|Rogers|1996|p=3}} Her mother came from a family of [[Leadlight|leadmakers]] and [[glazier]]s.{{Sfn|Norton|1999|p=22}} Her father had a famous uncle, [[William Cheselden]], who was Surgeon to [[George II of Great Britain|King George II]]; her mother descended from the [[De Witt (family)|De Witt family]] of Holland, with well-connected cousins including [[Sir Richard Jebb, 1st Baronet|Sir Richard Jebb]], a fashionable London physician,{{sfn|Rogers|1996|p=3}} and [[Samuel Hallifax]], a bishop.{{Sfn|Norton|1999|p=14}}

[[File:Vase with cover MET DP-15679-008 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=Ornate neoclassical vase with shiny, mottled glaze|[[Wedgwood|Wedgwood & Bentley]] vase. Radcliffe's father sold their wares in [[Bath, Somerset]].]]

In 1772, Radcliffe's father moved to [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] to manage a shop owned by [[Thomas Bentley (manufacturer)|Thomas Bentley]] and [[Josiah Wedgwood]], makers of [[Wedgwood|Wedgwood porcelain]].{{Sfn|Rogers|1996|p=3}} The shop was intended to sell second-rate goods to the less-discerning tourists of Bath, and her father avidly promoted the business.{{sfn|Norton|1999|pp=42-3}}{{efn|In later years, Wedgwood rarely mentioned the Bath shop, which he considered an embarrassing failure.{{sfn|Norton|1999|p=43}} Radcliffe's father promoted the store through newspaper advertisements and hand-delivered flyers, which Wedgwood considered vulgar and appalling.{{sfn|Norton|1999|pp=42-3}}}} He also supplemented his income by renting rooms to lodgers.{{Sfn|Norton|1999|p=43}} Bentley was Radcliffe's maternal uncle, and more respectable as a land-owning member of the [[gentry]]. She often paid extended visits to his home in [[Chelsea, London]] and later [[Turnham Green]].{{Sfn|Norton|1999|p=25}}{{sfn|Norton|1999|p=29}} Wedgwood's daughter [[Susannah Darwin|Susannah]], known by the nickname Sukey, also stayed in Chelsea and is Radcliffe's only known childhood companion.{{efn|Sukey later married Dr. [[Robert Darwin]] and had a son, the naturalist [[Charles Darwin]].{{sfn|Norton|1999|p=29}}}}{{sfn|Norton|1999|p=29}} Although mixing in some distinguished circles, Radcliffe seems to have made little impression in this society and was described by Wedgwood as "Bentley's shy little niece".{{sfn|Norton|1999|pp=31-33}} Bentley and Wedgwood were both [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]],{{Sfn|Norton|1999|p=27}} as was Radcliffe's grand-uncle Dr. [[John Jebb (reformer)|John Jebb]].{{Sfn|Norton|1999|p=14}} Radcliffe herself regularly attended [[Church of England|Anglican]] church services, but her biographer [[Rictor Norton]] suggests that she remained sympathetic to Unitarian and [[English Dissenters|Dissenters]].{{Sfn|Norton|1999|p=18}}