Italian

About “Italian”

The Italian, a Gothic novel by Ann Radcliffe, was first published in December 1796 but has a title page dated 1797. It was Radcliffe’s final novel published during her lifetime. The story has a dark and somber tone, focusing on themes of love, devotion, and persecution during the time of the Holy Inquisition. It reflects issues of the era, such as religion, aristocracy, and nationality, particularly during the French Revolution. Radcliffe’s use of veiled imagery is considered her most complex and sophisticated in this work, with concealment and disguise playing central roles. The novel features a powerful antagonist, Father Schedoni, who is seen as an influence on Byronic characters in Victorian literature. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)