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Father Schedoni is enlisted by the imperious Marchesa di Vivaldi to prevent her son from marrying the beautiful Ellena. Schedoni has no scruples in kidnapping Ellena and in undertaking whatever villainy will further his own ends. His menacing presence dominates a gripping tale... Read Full Overview

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... Read Full Overview

First published in 1797, The Italian is one of the finest examples of Gothic romance. The fast-paced, narrative centres on Ann Radcliffe's most brilliant creation, the sinister monk Schedoni, whose past is shrouded in mystery.

The Italian (1797) is a novel by Ann Radcliffe. Radcliffe's final novel is a tragic story of romance and mystery set in Naples during the brutal years of the Holy Inquisition. Published in the aftermath of the French Revolution, the novel investigates the issues of... Read Full Overview

First published in 1797, The Italian is Ann Radcliffe's classic creation of Gothic romance. Set against the backdrop of the Holy Inquisition, the narrative revolves around the sinister and mysterious monk, Father Schedoni, and the ill fated lovers, Ellena Rosalba and Vincentio... Read Full Overview

The Italian is a gothic novel written by Ann Radcliffe, an almost universally known author during her lifetime. This novel was the last one published while she was alive. Most critics now view Radcliffe as a key figure in the Gothic tradition who freed the collective English... Read Full Overview

In 1758 in the church of San Lorenzo in Naples where Vincentio di Vivaldi sees the beautiful Ellena di Rosalba with her aunt, Signora Bianchi. Vivaldi is struck with her beauty, and intends to court her, with the hopes that they will end up married. When Vivaldi's mother, the... Read Full Overview

In the shadow of Naples, a noblewoman falls in love with a man marked for ruin by a sinister priest. Fleeing convent walls and political plots, she faces danger, despair, and dark religious secrets. Beneath cloisters and confessionals, love must battle fear-and a past that... Read Full Overview

First published in 1797, The Italian, with its archetypal villain Schedoni, its intense romance and its sublime depiction of landscape, is the masterpiece of Gothic fiction. Enlisted by the Marchesa di Vivaldi, the perfidious monk Schedoni casts a malevolent presence throughout... Read Full Overview

Vincentio di Vivaldi has fallen in love with Ellena Rosalba. However, his proud and noble family vehemently oppose the match: they cannot allow him to wed someone with no money or social standing. Thus, his mother, the mean-spirited Marchesa, and her minion, the evil monk Father... Read Full Overview