The Italian by Ann Radcliffe

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About Ann Radcliffe

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The Italian

Or the Confessional of the Black Penitents

» Ann Radcliffe

Penguin
Adobe eBook : 05 Jul 2002

£2.60

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Synopsis

'His cowl ... as it threw a shade over the livid paleness of his face, encreased its severe character, and gave an effect to his large melancholy eye, which approached to horror'

Thus Ann Radcliffe introduces Schedoni, the villainous scheming monk, whose brooding presence dominates her novel, and who has become archetypal in Romantic literature. The Italian tells of the romance between the young Neapolitan nobleman Vincentio di Vivaldi and Ellena di Rosalba, a match opposed by the Marchesa, Vivaldi's haughty, manipulative mother. It is she who enlists the help of Schedoni. What ensues is fear, abduction and the terror of the Inquisition.

When she wrote The Italian, Ann Radcliffe was seen as the unrivalled exponent of the Gothic novel. With its sublime landscapes, pacy narrative, supernatural fears and nightmarish horrors it is one of the finest Gothic romances ever written.