| The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents | |
| Author | Ann Radcliffe |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 1797 |
The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents (1797) is a novel belonging to the Gothic genre and written by the English author Ann Radcliffe. Ann Radcliffe ( July 9, 1764 – February 7, 1823) was an English Author, a pioneer of the gothic novel. Year 1797 ( MDCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Ann Radcliffe ( July 9, 1764 – February 7, 1823) was an English Author, a pioneer of the gothic novel. The events are set in 1764, thirty- three years before the novels publication. It is the last book Radcliffe published during her lifetime (although she did go on to produce the novel Gaston de Blondville, which was published posthumously in 1826). The Italian has a dark, mysterious and sombre atmosphere, and concerns the themes of love, devotion and persecution by the Holy Inquisition. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and It also deals with issues prevalent at the time of the French Revolution, such as religion, aristocracy and nationality. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Radcliffe's renowned use of veil imagery is considered to have reached its height of sophistication and complexity in The Italian; concealment and disguise are central themes of the novel. In line with late eighteenth-century sensibility and its parallel fetishisation of the sublime and the sentimentally pastoral, heightened emotional states of Radcliffe's characters are often reflected through the pathetic fallacy in the surrounding scenes of nature.
Plot
The plot is set in the 18th century Italy, where a young nobleman of Naples, Vincentio di Vivaldi, meets a beautiful damsel Ellena Rosalba, with whom he falls in love and whom he intends to marry. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Vincentio's mother, being against the match and goaded by the mysterious monk Schedoni, orders him to kidnap Ellena. Vincentio nearly marries Ellena, but both are arrested and separated by Schedoni's subordinates before the nuptial ceremony is completed. Schedoni then travels to assassinate the girl, but suddenly discovers that she is in fact his own daughter. Schedoni's plans change radically and he hides Ellena in a safe place. Meanwhile, Vincentio, transported into a prison of Inquisition, struggles to disprove false charges against him. Schedoni appears at the trial, and after several unexpected revelations Vincentio is acquitted. Following a complex twist in the plot, Ellena is revealed to be Schedoni's niece, rather than his daughter; thus they are still of the same family. Her real father, Schedoni's brother is dead. It turns out that Schedoni descends from an old and noble family, and therefore Ellena becomes an eligible match for Vincentio. The novel ends with a happy marriage between the two, and the villains --Marchesa, Schedoni, Spalatro, and Nicola -- all dead.
External links
- The Italian available at eBooks@Adelaide
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic