 A Sicilian Romance, by Ann Radcliffe.
This is a novel written in 1790, with all the Gothic trimmings: a creepy castle with dungeons, intrigues, narrow escapes, swordfights, and a spirited young woman fleeing to avoid a forced marriage. It feels like a very compressed version of Radcliffe's later masterpiece, The Mysteries of Udolpho. As in Udolpho, there are mysterious doings that may or may not be supernatural; we get the explanation in the end. Despite its brevity, the story manages to have almost every single character presumed dead at one time or another; there are multiple tearful reunions when we learn otherwise. And there's also time for Radcliffe's descriptions of the Sicilian countryside. "Romance" in Radcliffe's era meant "a story turning upon marvelous or uncommon incidents." But this one is also a love story, which leaves us rooting for the lovers to finally get together, and the villains to get their well-deserved comeuppance. Popsugar Reading Challenge: Book that makes you want to go to Italy. 52 Book Club Challenge: Takes place in a castle. Booklist Queen Challenge: Historical romance.
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