In "A Sicilian Romance" (1790) Radcliffe began to forge the unique mixture of the psychology of terror and poetic description that would make her an exemplar of the Gothic novel, and the idol of the Romantics. This early novel explores the cavernous landscapes and labyrinthine passages of Sicily's castles and covents to reveal the shameful secrets of its all-powerful aristocracy. Julia and Emilia Mazzini live secluded in an ancient mansion near the Straits of Messina. After their father's return to the island a neglected part of the house is haunted by a series of mysterious sights and sounds. The origin of these hauntings is only discovered after a series of breathless pursuits through dreamlike pastoral landscapes. When revelation finally comes, it forces the heroines to challenge the united forces of religious and patriarchal authority. This novel should be of interest to general readers, especially those interested in Gothic fiction and women's writing, and to students of English literature, 18th-century literature, Romanticism, and women's studies at 6th form, undergraduate and postgraduate level.
One of the earlier works of Ann Radcliffe, the literary giant who helped gain popularity for Gothic literature. A Sicilian Romance started off a bit slow for me, but when the plot really got going, and people were being abducted left and right, shoved into dungeons, hid in monasteries, and are presumed dead about every other chapter, I was hooked.
Although the women in A Sicilian Romance aren't your twenty-first century "kick-ass woman", I was glad to see female characters attempting to create their own happiness in a patriarchal world, as well as being central to the narrative.
I chose this novel by Radcliffe because of its modest length, but now I am quite confident to tackle her longer novels like The Mysteries of Udolpho or The Italian.
