Other editions of book A Sicilian Romance

A desolate castle hides a family's shameful secrets ... On the rocky northern shores of Sicily stands a lonely castle, the home of the aristocratic Mazzini family. The marquis of Mazzini has remarried and gone away to live with his new wife, abandoning his two daughters - sweet-natured Emilia and lively, imaginative Julia - to wander the labyrinthine corridors alone. His only involvement with their lives is to arrange a marriage between Julia and the cruel Duke de Luovo, even though she loves another. But that is not the end of Julia's troubles. Strange lights and unearthly groaning noises are coming from parts of the castle that have been locked up for years. Is it occupied by some terrible supernatural power? Or do even darker secrets lie within its depths?

A Sicilian Romance is an early novel by one of the masters of Gothic fiction, Ann Radcliffe. Two young women live in an isolated mansion near the Straits of Messina. Mysterious sights and sounds begin haunting a neglected wing of the house, and their quest to discover the truth behind these mysteries leads them through the labyrinthine landscape of Sicily and into the darkest secrets of its aristoracy.

On a northern shore in Sicily lies the remains of a castle that once held love, betrayal and jealousy. Julia Mazzini lives within the walls of this desolate yet habited castle. Alongside her sister, brother, father and envious stepmother. When she comes of age for marriage, her father enforces an arranged marriage with the wicked Duke de Luovo - but Julia's heart is already taken. Will Julia's search for freedom from her father and yearning for her forbidden lover drive her beyond the labyrinth halls of the castle of will she remain oppressed, in fear of her life?A Sicilian Romance captures Radcliffe's revolutionary style for 18th century Gothic Fiction through entwining terror with romance, leaving readers on their toes as they unwind the secrets and horrors that lie within the prison chambers of the castle.

Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) is credited with shaping and popularizing the gothic novel. A prolific author, Radcliffe's second novel was greeted with wide praise. "A Sicilian Romance" (1790) takes place on the shore of north Sicily, where the aristocratic house of Mazzini is in turmoil. Julia and Emilia Mazzini reside in a labyrinthine castle bustling with supernatural activity. The quest to discover the source of these troubling haunts reveals a dark past. Weaving terror and romance, Radcliffe creates a vivid tale of family secrets and exotic intrigue. A master of the genre, Radcliffe would go on to pen many novels that would secure her influence in the Gothic and Romantic movements. Her work defines the literary trends of her era and remains enthralling to readers around the globe.

Ruined castles, secret passages, perpetually fainting heroines, the vile conniving schemes of the local gentry -- and, of course, things that go bump in the night: Radcliffe's A Sicilian Romance has all of that, and if Radcliffe didn't invent the form, certainly she brought it into full flower. If you haven't read Radcliffe, this first novel is a fine place to start . . .

Ann Ward (1764-1823) was born in Holborn. She married William Radcliffe, an editor for the English Chronicle, at Bath in 1788. The couple were childless. To amuse herself, she began to write fiction, which her husband encouraged. Her works were extremely popular among the upper class and the growing middle class, especially among young women. Her works included The Sicilian Romance (1790), The Romance of the Forest (1791), The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), and The Italian (1796). The success of The Romance of the Forest established Radcliffe as the leading exponent of the historical Gothic romance. Her later novels met with even greater attention, and produced many imitators, and famously, Jane Austen's burlesque of The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey, as well as influencing the works of Sir Walter Scott and Mary Wollstonecraft.

A Gothic novel by Ann Radcliffe, "A Sicilian Romance" was published anonymously in 1790. The plot revolves around the turbulent history of the fallen aristocrats of the house of Mazzini who lived in a castle on the northern shore of Sicily. The tale is told by a tourist who becomes intrigued by stories he hears from a monk he runs into while exploring the ruins of the old castle. The story itself is set in the late 1500s with the main characters being Julia and her sister Emilia, who are daughters of the Fifth Marquis of Mazzini, a haughty, cruel man. The girls mother had been a charming beauty of a woman that died quite suddenly. The girls are left in the care of their mother's friend and spend their entire childhood on the father's estate with no company except an occasional visit from their father. The girls grow to be talented, beautiful young women. When one of the servants dies, the father returns to the castle and decides to throw a lavish party. There Julia meets and falls in love with a young count and they decide to attempt to escape and elope. The rest of the tale revolves around the good and evil characters with clever twists and turns. This was the second book by Ann Radcliffe who was the most popular writer of her day and was almost universally known. (Timeless Classic Books)

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