- Paperback: 464 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; 2nd Revised edition edition (10 Sep 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192832549
- ISBN-13: 978-0192832542
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
510,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #55 in Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > History & Criticism > Novels & Novelists > 16th to 18th Centuries
- #74 in Books > Languages > By Language > Italian > Children's Books
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Product Description
Product Description
`His figure was striking, but not so from grace ... and as he stalked along, wrapt in the black garments of his order, there was something terrible in its air; something almost super-human.' 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. From the novel's opening chapters the reader is ushered into a shadowy world in which crime and religion are mingled. In the church of Santa Maria del Pianto in Naples, Ellena Rosalba and Vincentio di Vivaldi first meet; but their love is ill-omened. Leagued against them are the proud and ambitious Marchese di Vivaldi and her confessor Father Schedoni. When Ellena vanishes on the death of her guardian, Vivaldi sets out in pursuit of her across the mountainous regions of southern Italy before himself falling prey to the Holy Inquisition. This revised and expanded edition explores the novel in the context of British attitudes to Italy and Roman Catholicism in the late eighteenth century with close attention to the novel's style and form.
About the Author
E. J. Clery is Research Fellow in English at Sheffield Hallam University and author of The Rise of Supernatural Fiction 1762-1800 (1995). She has edited Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto in Oxford World's Classics.
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First Sentence
IT was in the church of San Lorenzo at Naples, in the year 1758, that Vincentio di Vivaldi first saw Ellena Rosalba. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT was in the church of San Lorenzo at Naples, in the year 1758, that Vincentio di Vivaldi first saw Ellena Rosalba. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Once again, Radcliffe has succeeded in making the setting, Naples with Vesuvius lowering in the background, the Alps and the islands of Ischia and Capri the real heroes/heroines of her novel. The descriptions are magnificent,quite surprisingly, as Radcliffe had only ever glimpsed the area from a distance, having been turned back at the border.
There are not so many ghoulies and ghosties in this book as there are , for instance, in 'The Italian'. The menace , here, is of a more earthly kind provided by Schedoni, the corrupt monk and the scheming Marchesa di Vivaldi.
The plot centres on Ellena and Vivaldi's love affair and the attempts by others to keep them apart. Needles to say, they are united in the end but have to survive kidnapping by various unsavoury characters, inclucing the officers of the Inquisition. There are many characteristic gloomy castles ,dank churches and crumbling ruins.
There were those, when novel was first published, who considered it unsuitable for women to read. One critic dismissed it as a book that would only be read by young women who 'wanted to frighten themselves to death'.It does not have the same impact in our more cynical age but is still capable of making the reader a little bit tense. Romantics among us will enjoy the final reunion of the lovers.
There are not so many ghoulies and ghosties in this book as there are , for instance, in 'The Italian'. The menace , here, is of a more earthly kind provided by Schedoni, the corrupt monk and the scheming Marchesa di Vivaldi.
The plot centres on Ellena and Vivaldi's love affair and the attempts by others to keep them apart. Needles to say, they are united in the end but have to survive kidnapping by various unsavoury characters, inclucing the officers of the Inquisition. There are many characteristic gloomy castles ,dank churches and crumbling ruins.
There were those, when novel was first published, who considered it unsuitable for women to read. One critic dismissed it as a book that would only be read by young women who 'wanted to frighten themselves to death'.It does not have the same impact in our more cynical age but is still capable of making the reader a little bit tense. Romantics among us will enjoy the final reunion of the lovers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5 reviews
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
The "Queen of the Gothic Novel"
26 Oct 1998
Format:Paperback
This is one of Radcliffe's two best novels, the other being "The Mysteries of Udolpho". A little excursion into literary history will clear up the confusion of the reviewer who feels that Radcliffe copied Lewis' "The Monk". If any copying was done, it was the other way around. At the time Lewis began writing, Radcliffe was the top Gothic novelist, and one of the most popular authors of any genre. Lewis, himself, stated that he was inspired to write "The Monk" after reading "Udolpho". (In fact, Radcliffe's mastery of the gothic influenced such poets as Byron and Keats, who called her "mother Radcliffe" for her legacy, and many other writers of her day and far beyond.) Among her major influences were Shakespeare, Milton, and Walpole, who basically founded the gothic novel. But Radcliffe took it to a new and higher level than Walpole, and Lewis took off from Radcliffe's new elevation, and went in another, though not necessarily higher, direction. Having read both "The Italian" and "The Monk" (my copies rest amiably next to one another on the shelf), I would say they are BOTH very much worth reading (as is "Udolpho"). Reading "Udolpho" first, and then "The Monk", will demonstrate how much Lewis drew his inspiration from the master. Reading "The Italian" will show that master at once at the peak and, unfortunately, the close of her literary career.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
So Many Turns of Events!
7 Aug 2002
Format:Paperback
The Italian was Radcliffe's last novel. It is about a nobleman who falls in love with a woman whose identity is unknown to herself and the reader throughout her sufferings. She is oppressed by many people in whose hands she falls as she is snatched away from the nobleman Vivaldi to prevent their marriage. Like all of Radcliffe's heroines, her character is marked by an amazing fortitude despite the horrifying things to which she is frequently subjected. Vivaldi faces the powers of the Inquisition and Radcliffe gives the reader some idea of their dealings with offenders and their ways of making prisoners "confess." There are many turns of events which are delightful until another perilous event disappoints and grieves the reader. This is certainly what most reviewers call a page-turner. The sentiments are by no means modern. For a reader who is looking for modern unrestrained "romance," none of Radcliffe's novels is a good choice. Her stories are for true romantics.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Gothic Romance at its Best
14 July 2000
Format:Paperback
Let it first be said that Lewis's "The Monk" is heavily influenced by Radcliffe. Reading "The Monk" first would throw the reader off the track. This novel is an excellent selection from the genre of Gothic novel, and is indeed a masterpiece. The Gothic novel had a great impact on Romanticism, and on the literature of the absurd. Overall, an enjoyable read!
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