The romance of the forest

Ann Ward Radcliffe, 1764-1823

Book - 2009

Set in Roman Catholic Europe, this novel follows the fate of its heroine Adeline, who is placed under the protection of a family fleeing Paris for debt. They take refuge in a ruined abbey in south-eastern France, where relics of the past--a skeleton, a manuscript, and a rusty dagger--are discovered in concealed rooms. Adeline finds herself at the mercy of the abbey's proprietor, a Marquis whose attentions finally force her to contemplate escape to distant regions. --From publisher's description,