Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest

Caroline Webber (Independent Scholar - Australia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1791

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Gothic & Ghosts
Novel

Resources

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Mrs Barbauld, in her essay on Ann Radcliffe, considers that

The Romance of the Forest

(1791) is in some respects “perhaps the best” of all her novels. Mrs Barbauld writes that the story:

Turns upon the machinations of a profligate villain and his agent against an amiable and unprotected girl, whose birth and fortunes have been involved in obscurity by crime and perfidy. The character of La Motte, the agent, is drawn with spirit. He is weak and timid, gloomy and arbitrary in his family, drawn by extravagance into vice and atrocious actions; capable of remorse, but not capable of withstanding temptation. (Barbauld, ii)

Turns upon the machinations of a profligate villain and his agent against an amiable and unprotected girl, whose birth and fortunes have been involved in…

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2082 words

Citation: Webber, Caroline. "The Romance of the Forest". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7611, accessed 27 November 2024.]

Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest

Dates

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