Ann Radcliffe

Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) es la escritora más emblemática de la imaginación gótica, y sus novelas fueron punto de referencia para los autores que cultivaron el género. Tres obras se alzan en el altar

La novela gótica tuvo padre y madre: Horace Walpole y Ann Radcliffe. De entre las obras de esta última destaca "El italiano o el confesionario de los penitentes negros", obra en la que la intriga y la accion enmarcan un relato que contiene ya rasgos inequivocos del movimiento literario que se avecinaba: el romanticismo. Publicada en 1797, esta novela narra las vicisitudes de una pareja de enamorados, cuyo amor prohiben las convenciones sociales de la epoca, que se ven en vueltos en una sucesion vertiginosa de acontecimientos que implican secuestros, asesinatos e incluso el juicio en el Tribunal de la Inquisicion del joven Vivaldi, el ferviente enamorado capaz de las mayores proezas e imprudencias para conseguir la liberacion de su amada de las garras de una perfida abadesa y un monje asesino. La autora: ANN WARD RADCLIFFE (Londres, 1764-1823) fue en su epoca la novelista mas famosa de Inglaterra. Considerada pionera de la novela gotica de terror, tuvo sin embargo una vida tranquila y apacible junto a su esposo, William Radcliffe, de quien tomo el apellido para firmar sus novelas, que empezaron a publicarse con exito a partir de 1790. Sus obras mas importantes son, ademas de "El italiano o el confesionario de los penitentes negros" (1797), "Los misterios de Udolfo" (1794) y "Aventuras del bosque" (1791).

What horrible history lies below the castles in the caverns of Sicily? Located on Sicilys northern shore, the castle of Mazzini was home to the beautiful and clever sisters Emilia and Julia. They have lived there for years with their governess after their father, the marquis, moved to Naples with his second wife. When he unexpectedly returns with their brother Ferdinand, mysterious events begin to occur around the castle. Rooms abandoned for years suddenly have strange tenants. Visiting the castle is a valiant and handsome friend of Ferdinand named Hippolitus, who immediately catches the eyes of both Julia and her stepmother. However, the marquis has his own ideas for who Julias husband should be, and he will stop at nothing to get his way, no matter what the cost to his daughters. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Novela gótica que transcurre en la Italia renacentista y cuyos héroes, una pareja de desigual condición social, son perseguidos por los padres del joven con la diabólica ayuda del confesor de la madre, al que unen secretos lazos de sangre con la infeliz novia y una grave culpa con la familia de su amante.

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 heroine Adeline, who is mysteriously placed under the protection of a family fleeing Paris for debt. They take refuge in a ruined abbey in south-eastern France, where sinister relics of the past - a skeleton, a manuscript, and a rusty dagger - are discovered in concealed rooms. Adeline finds herself at the mercy of the abbey''s proprietor, a libidinous Marquis whose attentions finally force her to contemplate escape to distant regions. Rich in allusions to aesthetic theory and to travel literature, The Romance of the Forest is also concerned with current philosophical debate and examines systems of thought central to the intellectual life of late eighteenth-century Europe.

Gothic novel that takes place on the northern shore of Sicily and tells a turbulent history of the fallen aristocrats of the house of Mazzini between love, mystery and suicide.

First published in London by Thomas Hookham in 1789, "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" is a gothic novel by Ann Radcliffe, her first novel."The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" subtitled "A Highland Tale", is set in the feudal Scottish Highlands and centred around the two titular castles of Athlin and Dunbayne. Whilst Athlin "an edifice built on the summit of a rock whose base was in the sea" is home to a refined society headed by the gentle Countess Matlida and her children, Dunbayne is the domain of the villainous Baron Malcolm. The novels plot follows the young Earl of Athlin, Osbert, who seeks to take revenge against the unlawful murder of his father by the Baron Malcolm twelve years earlier after meeting the peasant Alleyn..."The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" has everything: murder, revenge, battles, damsels in distress, aristocrats, captives, secrets, and, most of all, love. It is a love story in every sense: the love to the Scottish highlands in which it is set, the family love that binds almost above all else, and of course the love between men and women. This short work would later influence Radcliffes other works. At the same time, Radcliffe had an influence on Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and many others who wrote popular gothic novels.

Napoli, 1764: Vincenzo di Vivaldi ed Elena di Rosalba, giovani innamorati dall'animo semplice e puro, vedono il loro sogno d'amore contrastato dalla perfida marchesa, la madre di lui, che non ritiene la ragazza all'altezza della sua nobile e ricca famiglia. Ad aiutare la malvagia donna nel tessere la sua trama è il diabolico monaco Schedoni, uno dei personaggi più riusciti della Radcliffe: è lui "l'italiano" che dà il titolo al romanzo, losco figuro dal passato ambiguo, di nobili natali ma caduto in disgrazia dopo essersi macchiato di un'orribile colpa. Discendente del Satana ribelle di Milton e fratello dei Masnadieri di Schiller, Schedoni è diventato in breve prototipo di tutti gli antagonisti del romanzo gotico e oltre. Tra atmosfere cupe e spaventose, colpi di scena, misteri inspiegabili, terribili prove cui sono sottoposti i personaggi, si dispiega una trama che a suo tempo conquistò tantissimi lettori in Inghilterra contribuendo al diffondersi della nuova sensibilità romantica. Con un saggio di Mario Praz. Introduzione di Alessandro Gallenzi.

With "The Mysteries of Udolpho", first published in 1794, Ann Radcliffe raised the Gothic romance to a new level and inspired a long line of imitators.Portraying her heroines inner life, creating a thick atmosphere of fear, and providing a gripping plot that continues to thrill readers today, "The Mysteries of Udolpho" is the story of orphan Emily St. Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the medieval castle of her aunts new husband, Montoni. Inside the castle, she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montonis threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors that threaten to overwhelm her.

With an Introduction by Kathryn White. 'He saw her wounded, and bleeding to death; saw her ashy countenance, and her wasting eyes ...turned piteously on himself, as if imploring him to save her from the fate that was dragging her to the grave...' Ann Radcliffe, author of The Romance of the Forest and The Mysteries of Udolpho, is the high priestess of the gothic novel. In The Italian, first published in 1797, she creates a chilling, atmospheric concoction of thwarted lovers, ruined abbeys, imprisonment and dark passages, with an undercurrent of seething sexuality and presents us with a cunning villain in the sinister monk Schedoni. A contemporary review commented on, 'Radcliffe's uncommon talent for exhibiting, with picturesque touches of genius, the vague and horrid shapes which imagination bodies forth...' Radcliffe's work was hugely influential and H.P. Lovecraft, early twentieth century master of the uncanny, was impressed by the, 'eerie touch of setting and action contributing artistically to the impression of illimitable frightfulness which she wished to convey.' The novel remains a fascinating, engrossing and unnerving masterpiece of gothic fiction.

"The Italian", (in full "The Italian; or, The Confessional of the Black Penitents: A Romance") is a novel by Ann Radcliffe, published in three volumes in 1797."The Italian" is a classic gothic novel, renowned throughout history; a tale of secrecy and intrigue that incorporates seemingly supernatural events to explain a very complicated plot.The main plot concerns the attempts of various characters to prevent the marriage of Vincentio di Vivaldi, a gallant and persistent nobleman, to Ellena di Rosalba, a fair maiden of unknown ancestry. The protagonist, Vivaldi, falls in love and plans to marry Ellena, a young woman with a secret family history, against his familys wishes. His mother and Schedoni conspire to separate them by kidnapping and imprisoning Vivaldi. Eventually, Ellenas family history is revealed, allowing her to be acknowledged as a suitable match for Vivaldi.

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.