The Italian: Or the Confessional of the Black Penitents (Oxford World's Classics)

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In one of the better introductions of a villian I’ve encountered, Radcliffe reveals Schedoni as a man who “would sometimes abstract himself from the society for whole days together, or when with such a disposition he was compelled to mingle with it, he seemed unconscious where he was, and continued shrouded in meditation and silence till he was again alone.”“In fact he cared not for truth, nor sought it by bold and broad argument, but loved to exert the wily cunning of his nature in hunting it through artifical perplexities. At length, from a habit of intricacy and suspicion, his vitiated mind could receive nothing for truth, which was simple and easily comprehended.”

Mayhew, Robert J. (2002). "Latitudinarianism and the Novels of Ann Radcliffe". Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 44 (3): 273–301. doi: 10.1353/tsl.2002.0015. JSTOR 40755365. S2CID 161768388.All of our upcoming public events and our St Pancras building tours are going ahead. Read our latest blog post about planned events for more information. William Baker, Critical Companion to Jane Austen: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work (Facts on File, 2007); see entry on Radcliffe, p. 578.

So yes, there are slower moments, as there are in her other masterpieces, and unfortunately those slower moments make up the entire climatic part of the story. But they are not so bad as to prevent the novel from being an enthralling tale of romance and horror. Of all her novels, The Italian would probably make the best film. It’s amazing to know this was written long before motion pictures because so much of the atmosphere and action is written in ways that I can only describe as cinematic.

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a b c d e f g Rogers, Deborah D. (1996). Ann Radcliffe: a bio-bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28379-6. OCLC 33207099. And as if that wasn't enough, I mean, perhaps there were people who thought his conspiracy with the Marchesa towards the lovely young couple wasn't ruthless enough, Radcliffe had some other surprises up her sleeve, as well. But then, it paid off. Such an amazing story with such interesting characters and such thrilling occurrences between persons! He revisits the villa in hopes of seeing her but is unable to do so. That night, he is wandering through a garden when he is approached by a ghostly figure in monk’s clothing. This figure tells Vivaldi to be wary of visiting the villa again in the future. Due to his love for Ellena, he continues to visit anyway, spurring another visitation from the ghostly figure. Although he doesn’t find out who this ghostly figure is, Vivaldi decides to bypass the warnings by asking for Ellena’s hand in marriage. Miall, David (2000). The Preceptor as Fiend: Radcliffe's Psychology of the Gothic. University Press of America.