Italian, The

`His figure was striking, but not so from grace ...and as he stalked along, wrapt in the black garments of his order, there was something terrible in its air; something almost super-human.` First ...

`His figure was striking, but not so from grace ...and as he stalked along, wrapt in the black garments of his order, there was something terrible in its air; something almost super-human.` First published in 1797, The Italian is one of the finest examples of Gothic romance. The fast-paced, narrative centres on Ann Radcliffe`s most brilliant creation, the sinister monk Schedoni, whose past is shrouded in mystery. From the novel`s opening chapters the reader is ushered into a shadowy world in which crime and religion are mingled. In the church of Santa Maria del Pianto in Naples, Ellena Rosalba