The Romance of the Forest (1791) heralded an enormous surge in the popularity of Gothic novels, in a decade that included Ann Radcliffe's later works, The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian. Set in Roman Catholic Europe of violent passions and extreme oppression, the novel follows the fate of its[...]

First published in 1797, The Italian's fast-paced, chilling narrative centres on Ann Radcliffe's most brilliant creation, the sinister monk Schedoni, whose past is shrouded in mystery. This is an entirely updated edition focusing on the formal, historical and political aspects of one of the finest e[...]

Trapped in a gloomy medieval fortress, an orphaned heroine battles the devious schemes of her guardians as well as her own pensive visions and melancholy fancies. Generations of readers have thrilled to this famous Gothic tale and its hypnotic pre-Freudian exploration of the psyche. A best-seller up[...]

Ann Radcliffe, ne Ward (1764-1823) was an English author and a pioneer of the gothic novel. She married William Radcliffe, an editor for the English Chronicle, at Bath in 1788. The couple were childless. To amuse herself, she began to write fiction, which her husband encouraged. Her works were extre[...]