Customer Reviews

The Italian (Worlds Classics)

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I read this book in Japanese translation years ago, and recently read it again in the original language in order to write a paper. And I can say, both times the book gave me a good, healthy amount of thrill and joy.

Published in 1796, "The Italian" became an instant success, cementing the fame of Ann Radcliffe among the liteary circle. Her name has been already well-known with her previous work "The Mysteries of Udolpho" two years before, but in my book this follow-up is better than the other. Of course, it depends on your view which is superior, but it is commonly agreed that Ann Radcliffe's position in the history of English literature is secured by those two Gothic classics, which clearly gave inspiration to Jane Austen, who wrote the joyful "Northanger Abbey."

The story is rather simple in the beginning. It tells of a romantic love of young dashing nobleman Vivaldi in Naples, who falls in love with a girl Ellena. But his plan of marriage is soon interrupted by the vicious monk Schedoni. Then ensue abduction, murder (attempted or not), and the Inquisition. There are lot of suspense, terror, and thrill that come from the fluent narrative of Radcliffe, who knows how to engage the readers' attention. (And thankfully, "The Italian" is free from any lengthy poems that are found aplenty among "Udolpho.")

To be sure, the third part of the book is damaged by its too complicated relations between characters, and too rapid pen of the author to wrap up the events with rational explanations about the mysterious things in the first part of the book, but the whole book manages to sustain our interest to the end. Radcliffe's effusive descriptions of landscapes (with a little sentimental touch) found in "Udolpho" are gone (but not completely), and the plot is tightly knit so that we can enjoy the fast-paced adventure of the hero and the heroine. The best part of the book is, probably, the middle section where the hero, with his comic relief side-kick, tries to escape from the sinister convent where the heroine is confined to be forced to take a veil. It's a real page-turner which would put many of today's bestselling author to deserved shame.

One of the best Gothic novels ever written, "The Italian" is still a gripping tale. Most regrettabe thing is that the author Radcliffe stopped writing totally after this book for the rest of her life (she died in 1823). Considering the fact that she had never been to Italy (she travelled abroad only once, in Netherland and Germany), and that her sublime landscapes are proof of her amazingly imaginative power, her early retirement should be lamented by all of us. But we must be content with what is left. Enjoy this one.

THE PENGUIN EDITION published in 2000 has 10 pages of excerpts from comtemporary reviews, which would help readers with academic purpose.

First published in 1797, this was the culmination of Ann Radcliffe's writing career. She was seen as the darling of the Gothic mode, which we would probably put into the genre of "thrillers" or "horror". All the appropriate dungeons are here, the hint of demonic influence, the seperation of star-struck lovers, revenge, the searching of dark ruins, and the diabolical and angelic facets of the Church. Radcliffe does go deeper than that though through her paced plotting and and the limited use of sentimentality that destroyed so much of writing back then. The gothic novel would run out its course eventually, but had a great effect on the talent of its day. Keats, Byron, and Shelley all owe at least some of their subject matter and modes of expression to Radcliffe.

Well, back to the novel itself. The story opens in the year 1764 in Naples, Italy as a group of English tourists are visiting a church. They notice a diabolical looking man who they are informed can never leave the safety of the church walls because he is an assasin. The place is his last sanctuary from those who wish to kill him. Of course the group asks to hear the tale of the assasin and The Italian begins.

The story opens as a young nobleman named Vincentio di Vivaldi spots the beautiful but common Ellena Rosalba during church service and falls in love with her. From this Dantesque beginning we are led into a Romeo and Juliet scenario in which Vivaldi begins to woo her without the approval of his parents. Then we have the apperance of a cowled priest who appears to warn Vivaldi of future events before they happen. Vivaldi chases him a couple of times but all he ever finds is thin air. As the book continues, Vivaldi's mother will stop at nothing to keep her son from marrying his one true love.

I didn't have too much hope that I would like this book when I picked it up, having given up on reading a similar work called Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin. I was very impressed with Radcliffe though. She stayed away from sentimentality and none of the characters was a caricature. They all seemed like deeply drawn personalities. The book had a real modern feel to it, probably because she modeled her stuff on Shakespeare, the most advanced writer of any age. The "thriller" aspects were quite good too. I found myself desperately wanting to turn the page before I had even read it to know what would happen next. Ann is a writer I will go back to and read again.

I had never heard of Ann Radcliffe until I read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin. Northanger Abbey is a paraody that "makes fun" of the gothic type novels that were popular at that time. Ann Radcliffe and some of her writings are mentioned by name in Northanger Abbey. So...off I went to find out more about Ann and get one her novels.

Ann was really the first gothic writer and set the scene for the other gothic writers that followed her in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Another reviewer accuses her of copying the novel The Monk - but it is actually the opposite. The author of The Monk copied her!

Anyhow...I loved this book! Vivaldi and Ellena fall in love but Vivaldi's mother is against the match because Ellena is not from a "proper" family. The mother and a monk initiate a plot to keep them from marrying each other. I don't want to say much more, because there are so many interesting plot twists that I don't want to give anything away. It is a great story line that keeps you guessing. There is romance, suspense, mystery, intrigue, evil villians, evil plots, creepy landscapes, and more!

It is a long book that took me several weeks to read but was more than worth my time!

I have just finished "The Italian" by Ann Radcliffe. I wish this woman were still alive to write about more memorable charcters, like Vivaldi, Ellena, Shedoni and Spalatro. A wonderfully wielded story with romance and edge of your seat adventure through the Italian hills and vales of Naples in the late 1700's. Plot twists and scary evil, deceitful goings on. You feel sorry for the couple torn assunder by the machinations of a haughty mother, and in the end you even feel sorry of the villians because they too realize (however late) that what they did was wrong. I only hope I can find another story like this soon.

This book is a sad copy of The Italian by Ann Radcliffe. I purchased this book for a Gothic Lit class, and upon opening the book to read it found myself greatly confused by what I saw. This book is a compilation of scanned text from an original version of the novel, reprinted with absolutely NO editing. Because there is NO editing, this edition is full of random symbols, gaps in pages, missing information, and is separated into "Sections", which has no particular meaning in regards to the flow of the novel.Chapter headings are located within the main body of text, and very hard to find. I have purchased a different version of this novel since discovering the sad state of this one. I repeat: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. It is absolutely terrible, and in my opinion shouldn't even be available for purchase on Amazon.

I discovered Ann Radcliffe's 'The Italian', like another reviewer, after having read 'The Monk'. And while I had hoped for another similarly twisting, winding, gothic thriller, this was not the case with 'The Italian'.

The opening pages seem to purport the reveal of the tale of the Black Penitents, as the story opens with a group of travelers seeing a shadowy, diabolical figure lurking in the shadows of a church.

But what follows is more of a tale of 'star-crossed lovers', leaning a bit more toward Romeo and Juliette. Vivaldi, the hero of this tale, pursues the affections of the orphaned Ellena Di Rosalba, much to the chagrin of his mother, the Marchesa Vivaldi. She employs the aide of her confessor, Father Schedoni, to separate the young lovers.

Ellena is spirited away to a convent, which Vivaldi breaks her out of, and here the tale becomes at least a bit more complex, as Vivaldi is subsequently imprisoned for his actions; as Ellena is marked for death in her new surroundings; and the Marchesa struggles to keep them forever apart.

In comparison to 'The Monk', which you find in Amazon's list of 'people who read this book also read' listing...this tale is in no way as dark, gothic, or 'thrilling' a read. Though enjoyable, the story doesn't fit the opening pages and the foreshadowing of the 'diabolical figure' seeking refuge in the church to avoid death, the mysterious 'Black Penitents' named...or any of the intrigue with which the book opens.

Still, in comparison to modern 'thrillers'; this book is paced well, plotted nicely, and comes to a logical conclusion. While I did not find the story I anticipated, it is still worth a read.

The life of young nobleman Vicentio de Vivaldi isn't the same the moment he catches a glimpse of a woman in a black veil. Ellena is beautiful, graceful and, in spite of her status as an impoverished orphan under her aunt's care, she has class and poise. But that is not enough for Vivaldi's parents. The son of a marquis cannot possibly take such a girl for his wife. When putting Ellena's reputation in question isn't enough, the marchioness takes some drastic measures to ensure a permanent separation. So she gets the help of Schedoni, a well-respected but corrupt monk, to lock Ellena up at a monastery against her will. Before and during these occurrences, a mysterious apparition in a monk's habit often warns Vivaldi. Is it a ghost? Is it friend or foe? And, more to the point, is it Schedoni? Is he playing some sort of sick game with Vivaldi? Twists and turns and big revelations abound.

Set in mid-eighteenth century Naples, this gothic story is about two star-crossed lovers who have to beat an unfair and corrupt system to be together. But this isn't just a romantic gothic tale. The Italian is also a demonstration of the political powers and corrupted religions of its time. It is social commentary, a very insightful and literary one at that. First published in 1796, The Italian is Ann Radcliffe's last and most accomplished novel. To think that she began her writing career because she was bored while her husband traveled for work-related reasons! Well, she did her research and devoted a great deal of time to developing some good stories. This novel is better than her previous two because it doesn't contain as many poems and sonnets as her previous efforts. It's more straight-to-the-point, more showing than telling, much more action-packed and suspenseful. The gothic elements are awesome. You'll love this novel if you're a fan of the genre, especially if you're a fan of classic gothic stories. Take the plunge and read Radcliffe. You won't regret it.

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.

I want to caution anyone from buying this edition of The Italian. The print is incredibly small - I suppose in the publisher's effort to make the book appear more attractive by limiting the number of pages. If your eyes can take the strain, go for it; mine couldn't.

I have a particular love for Mysteries of Udolpho, but The Italian is another wonderful book. I read it in one day, and couldn't put it down. The only sad part about it, is there is so few books of hers to read!

A must read for gothic literature!