Marchioness de Villeroi is a mysterious figure whose miniature Emily finds in a secret panel in her father's closet. She was married to Marquis de Villeroi, but becomes estranged from him and dies through the intervention of Laurentini di Udolpho. She was a sister to M. St. Aubert, and thereby Emily's aunt. Protagonista atípica. Ellena Di Rosalba es un personaje fascinante. Nunca pensé que un libro escrito en el siglo XVIII pudiese contener tal tesoro. Ellena siempre antepone su orgullo a todo lo demás. Y podréis pensar que ser tan egoísta está mal pero el respeto por una misma prevalece antes que cualquier cosa. Gracias Ellena por ilustrarme a mí, y a muchas antes que yo. Miles, Robert. Ann Radcliffe: The Great Enchantress. United Kingdom, Manchester University Press, 1995. Schedoni turns out to be nothing like a monk at all, but sought himself to that kind of life after his sins, perhaps for redemption. Unfortunately, his vicious ways leads him into muddy circumstances yet again.

The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay) Vol. III, 1793–1797, ed. Joyce Hemlow etc. (Oxford: OUP, 1973), p. 63, n. 8; the contract for Udolpho is housed at the University of Virginia Library.

The older woman is not hurt, but Vivaldi insists that she accept his arm as they walk to their house, the Villa Altieri. Though small, the house is comfortable and tastefully furnished. Standing on an eminence, it commands an impressive view of Naples.

Ann Radcliffe (née Ward, 1764–1823) was one of the more distinguished practitioners of the gothic novel, a genre usually set in a foreign country, often in the past, in which mysterious events place an isolated protagonist in peril. The gothic is characterized by dramatic use of atmosphere, scenery, and convoluted plots filled with action and suspense. In some ways, one can think of the gothic as a novelistic equivalent to the revenge tragedy. Stanley Kunitz and Howard Haycraft, eds, British Authors Before 1800: A Biographical Dictionary (NY: H. W. Wilson, 1952), p. 427. 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.Vincentio di Vivaldi becomes infatuated with a woman named Ellena di Rosalba, whom he sees while attending service at the Church of San Lorenzo. He follows her and her elderly companion, Signora Bianchi, later revealed to be Ellena’s aunt. Seeing an opportunity to escort the two women to their home, Vincentio offers Signora his arm to help her walk.

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.The Veiled Picture; or, The Mysteries of Gorgono (1802) is a chapbook abridgement of it, preserving most characters and plot elements but dispensing with details and descriptions. The characters themselves also appear to mimic the characteristics of Shakespeare’s heroes, heroines and villains. Ellena has the beloved status of Juliet with the pride of Cordelia from King Lear; Vivaldi is the passionate lover like Romeo; and Father Schedoni, the most developed character in the novel, is a manipulator like Iago, tortured by his love for Ellena just as Othello is tortured by his love for Desdemona, faces the oncoming, inevitable consequences of his bloodshed just as Macbeth. [35] [41] McIntyre, Clara Frances. Ann Radcliffe in Relation to Her Time. United Kingdom, Yale University Press, 1920. Signora Laurentini di Udolpho (also called Sister Agnes) is a nun in the French monastery of St. Claire. She dies in the final volume of the novel, whereupon she is revealed to be Signora Laurentini, heiress of the house of Udolpho. She has estranged the Marquis de Villeroi, her first love, from his wife, after which she retires to the monastery to live in guilt. She divides her fortune between Emily and the wife of M. Bonnac. Many themes are explored in The Italian, including romance, discrimination between social classes, and tragedy. As a gothic novel, The Italian includes the typical story elements that define the genre. That is, the hero must rescue the woman he loves by overcoming various odds. Despite the lovers being young, Vivaldi and Ellena showcase a love for one another that is not defined by prejudice or selfish ambition.