Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the writer from the list who is a key figure in the Gothic literary tradition.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's look at the literary associations of each author:
\[\begin{array}{rl} \bullet & \text{Mary Shelley: She is the author of Frankenstein (1818), a seminal work that is a cornerstone of both Gothic fiction and early science fiction. The novel employs classic Gothic elements like a dark, mysterious atmosphere, transgression of boundaries, and themes of horror and the sublime. } \\ \bullet & \text{Leo Tolstoy: He was a Russian master of Realist fiction, known for epic novels like War and Peace and Anna Karenina. } \\ \bullet & \text{Ezra Pound: He was a central figure in the Modernist movement in poetry, known for his work on Imagism and Vorticism. } \\ \bullet & \text{Chinua Achebe: He was a Nigerian novelist and a foundational figure in modern African and Postcolonial literature, famous for his novel Things Fall Apart. } \\ \end{array}\]
Therefore, Mary Shelley is the author associated with the Gothic.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct option is (A).