The Italian

The Italian appeared in 1797 during peak Ann Radcliffe pandemonium. Fueled by the success of her uber bestsellers The Romance of the Forest (1791) and The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), this new release was destined to be popular, no matter what. Fans were anxious for another Gothic thriller by their......more

Conventional wisdom declares that Radcliffe was both dismayed and inspired by Lewis's The Monk into making The Italian her finest book. I disagree. The Italian is certainly her best constructed and most tightly plotted novel and the concentrated Italianate atmosphere is extremely effective, particul......more

There’s a recurring joke in The Italian where one character tries to convey a story to another character, making it much longer than it needs to be. The story often contains some very important information, such as someone’s death. The second character will frequently interrupt them, saying ‘just ge......more

This is Ann Radcliffe's second best-known work right after The Mysteries of Udolpho. I found this great and very exciting, although I certainly do not reach the level of excitement that The Mysteries of Udolpho reached me. In the well-known style of the author is of course, with the nice melancholy......more

4.8 "Volvía la mirada hacía el pasado y esperaba el futuro con una especie de desalentada desesperación" Ann Radcliffe ostenta el título de ser la “Madre de la Literatura Gótica” , y no de forma inmerecida. Todo comienza cuando la joven Radcliffe, un año después de contraer matrimonio, e......more