Ann Radcliffe’s Romance of the Forest, first published in 1791, is the epitome of the Gothic novel: a beautiful, orphaned heiress, a dashing hero, a dissolute, aristocratic villain, and a ruined abbey deep in a great forest are combined by the author in a tale of suspense where danger lurks behind every secret trap-door. Reprinted four times between 1791 and 1795 and satirised as representative of the Gothic genre by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey, Radcliffe’s tense masterpiece, in which the heroine is afraid even to look in the mirror for fear of what she might see behind her, established her reputation as a writer.
Amusement, sometimes mixed with irritation I had very mixed feelings about this one- the story itself was sometimes very interesting, but there were also some really annoying aspects to it.
For one thing, Adeline (the heroine) is so excruciatingly perfect that sometimes I just wanted to slap her upside the head. She is stunningly beautiful, ridiculously intelligent, and on top of that, she never has anything less than an entirely virtuous motive for any action she takes (or lack thereof). Apparently Mrs. Radcliffe was not aware that pictures of perfection make most people sick and wicked, not sympathetic. On top of this, as another review pointed out, she cries at a drop of a hat. I am myself rather sensitive, but there were times that it got fairly ridiculous. Another annoyance was that there were several hackneyed plot ideas that really shouldn't have been used- the worst being the tired device of a character suddenly being found to be of noble birth and great fortune near the end. I don't know why this is a popular plot twist, but it seems to add little to the story as a whole.
The third was the overuse of poetry and descriptions of scenery. Having read The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian, I thought I would be prepared for this, but there were times in The Romance of the Forest that I got so fed up that I skipped these parts to get back to the main story. I can understand a little bit here and there, but there were portions that it went on for several pages at a time.
So why have I given it a three, then? Because there were also several things that somewhat redeemed it. Peter, La Motte's servant, was a delightful character, and I thought it was very unfair of Adeline and La Motte (the latter especially) to constantly be belittling him since it wasn't his fault he was not very bright. La Luc was also an endearing character, as were Theodore and Louis. I also liked Madame La Motte because she was more of a mixed character than any of the others- she had both good and bed qualities, unusual in Radcliffe's works.
So all in all, I would say that though there were many frustrations, the novel was not with its charms as well.
Short and Sweet The Mysteries of Udolpho is the best of the Radcliffe books, but I give this one 5 stars because it is still a very good read!
Romance of the English language...... I didn't love this book with the fervent devotion I love her Mysteries of Udolpho or The Italian, you can tell it was one of her first. Radcliffe's writing improved immensely. I wouldn't start out with this book, read Mysteries of Udolpho first!
I am a die hard fan of Radcliffe's, this is another excellent and grand novel.
Ann Radcliff's First Success as Gothic Writer; Has Eerie Charms of Gothic, But Is Not Good Enough Today Ann Radcliff is known for two thrilling Gothic novels -- 'Mysteries of Udolpho' (1794) and 'The Italian' (1797) -- but her talent was first recognized by 'The Romance of the Forest' (1791). 'The Romance' is now obscured by the more famous works, but can still offer some thrills common in the 18th-century Gothic world in its own way.
The narrative of 'Romance' is typically set in Roman Catholic Europe, and we see a family -- La Motte and his wife -- fleeing from Paris for debt. In the middle of the deep forest, La Motte is caught by the banditti (so he thinks). But the latter would not demand money; the ruffian instead brings a young, innocent girl Adeline, and places her under the protection of the family.
The episode above is just a beginning. Next we see La Motte et al. keep on running, until they decide to settle in a remote ruined abbey in France, of which owner Marquis is away from the estate. The deserted abbey provides them a good hiding place until Adeline realizes that something is wrong with the place -- there are a rusty dagger, a faded manuscript, a trap door, strange bahavior of La Motte, who daily vanishes in the woods, etc. And when finally Marquis arrives there in person, she must face another danger, typically Gothic situation for an innocent lady.
If you have read Radcliff, you find in 'Romance of the Forest' her distict touch here and there, which she was to develop in her later works. Besides the trademark tricks of Gothic fiction (which is to be parodied in 'Northanger Abbey'), we see Radcliff's obsession with the "sublime" landscapes, and her heroine is always allowed to escape from the dangers, only to frequently faint later. Lengthy poems are often quoated to express the sentiment of her and the writer, and the identities of some characters are revealed in the final act in order to solve the problems as rewards for the good.
Though Ann Radcliff has shown considerable skills of presenting thrills, the novel gets weaker in the third (and final) book, in which Adeline has virtually nothing to do. One strange thing is (from the viewpoint of us today, I mean) that portions of the third book are devoted to her travel, far from 'The Forest,' partly written as if it is a book of travel literature. And because of the too many characters rather carelessly introduced, the conclusion suffers from the complex (and often confusing) relations between them. So who is this sinister Marquis after all? Like the ending of 'Oliver Twist' the book explains too hastily, and you need to stop and think a while.
Good as it is, generally 'Romance of the Forest' is not regarded as Ann Radcliff's best, and probably it remains so in the future. And it even ceases to be a Gothic novel in the fianl section, in which the heroine, who should be in distress trapped in the distant castle somewhere in the Alps, leaves the dark forest far behind, and is allowed to look at the sunset in the sea and read a poem.or two. So if you want a genuinely Gothic version of Radcliff's novels, you should read 'The Italian' first.
Overly Sentimental This book, which has decent plotline and some surprisingly twists and turns, ends up leaving a bitter taste in one's mouth after a while. The main protagonist Adeline cries almost every page she is one(not an exaggeration, she really almost cries on EVERY page). Also, though the coincidences and twists are sometimes very well-done and clever, they are so overused by the finale to become tedious and annoying. You begin to wonder how anyone could marry anyone since EVERYONE in France seems to be someone's long lost cousin or uncle. If you've read any of Edmund Burke's lengthly writings of the sublime, you will see it all over this book and it is about half of the endnotes. It is understandable why this was popular in its day but also will not appeal to a modern audience who will be far more critical of the female's over the top self pity. A great read for those who love the genre and a pain to read for everyone else, read Romance of the Forest only if you're willing to accept more instances of crying than there are pages in the whole book.
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