Ann Ward Radcliffe

The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) is the archetypal Gothic novel. A young woman, Emily St. Aubert, suffers the death of her father, followed by worsening physical and psychological death, mirrored in a landscape of crumbling castles and emotive Alps.

Set against the backdrop of the Inquisition, this Gothic romance from British novelist Ann Radcliffe is sure to please fans of the genre. Protagonists Vincentio di Vivaldi and Ellena di Rosalba fall in love at first sight and attempt to escape the siege of religious persecution and marry. Will they succeed, or will their romance fall prey to the hysteria and senseless destruction that defines the era?

Set against the backdrop of the Inquisition, this Gothic romance from British novelist Ann Radcliffe is sure to please fans of the genre. Protagonists Vincentio di Vivaldi and Ellena di Rosalba fall in love at first sight and attempt to escape the siege of religious persecution and marry. Will they succeed, or will their romance fall prey to the hysteria and senseless destruction that defines the era?

A Sicilian Romance is an early novel by one of the masters of Gothic fiction, Ann Radcliffe. Two young women live in an isolated mansion near the Straits of Messina. Mysterious sights and sounds begin haunting a neglected wing of the house, and their quest to discover the truth behind these mysteries leads them through the labyrinthine landscape of Sicily and into the darkest secrets of its aristoracy.

The novel is a set in a powerful landscape which became familiar in her later work, with complex clan feuds and mysterious romantic intrigues played out against a backdrop of ruined medieval castles and rugged Scottish coastlines. Each of the characters can be defined by their passions: The present Earl of Athlin, Osbert, is driven by a passionate desire to avenge his father's murder at the hand of Malcolm, the Baron of Dunbayne. His sister, Mary, is ever swooning and fainting in an attempt to resist her passion for Alleyn, a highlander not of noble birth (and therefore unworthy).

The Romance of the Forest is a Gothic novel by Ann Radcliffe that was first published in 1791. It combines an air of mystery and suspense with an examination of the tension between hedonism and morality. The novel was her first major, popular success, going through four editions in its first three years.

First published in 1790, A Sicilian Romance is a gothic novel by best-selling author Ann Radcliffe. The villainous Marquis of Mazzini returns to his original Castle after a long absence when he one of his servants, Vincent, passes way. His daughters, Julia and her sister Emillia, live there under the guidance and love of their carer Madame de Menon as their mother has died. He brings with him his second wife the Marchioness and his son, Ferdinand, who becomes quite close to his sisters (especially Julia.) From there, we follow Julia, the more interesting sister, and watch as her quiet and happy life gets turned upside down.

A Sicilian Romance & The Mysteries of Udolpho By Ann Radcliffe