THE ITALIAN

First published in 1797, this work, with its archetypal villain Schedoni, intense romance between Vincenzo di Vivaldi and Elena di Rosalba, and lofty poetics of the sublime, is the masterpiece of Gothic fiction. Enlisted by Vincenzos mother Marchesa Di Vivaldi, the perfidious monk Schedoni casts a malevolent presence throughout the book as he tries to thwart the passion of the two young lovers. Against the backdrop of the Catholic Inquisition and the unforgettable scenery of the Bay of Naples and the Apennines, The Italian celebrates the heroic struggle of love in the face of malice and deceit.
From the first moment Vincentio di Vivaldi, a young nobleman, sets eyes on the veiled figure of Ellena, he is captivated by her enigmatic beauty and grace. But his haughty and manipulative mother is against the match and enlists the help of her confessor to come between them. Schedoni, previously a leading figure of the Inquisition, is a demonic, scheming monk with no qualms about the task, whether it entails abduction, torture-or even murder. The Italian secured Ann Radcliffe''s position as the leading writer of Gothic romance of the age, for its atmosphere of supernatural and nightmarish horrors, combined with her evocation of sublime landscapes and chilling narrative.