The Mysteries of Udolpho

‘His power did not appear so terrible to her imagination as it was wont to do: a sacred pride was in her heart, that taught it to swell against the pressure of injustice’

If beautiful, orphaned Emily St Aubert is to resist the predatory demands of her new guardian, the inscrutable Signor Montoni, then she must quell the superstitious imaginings that pervade her mind. Within the sombre walls of Montoni’s medieval castle the boundaries of real and imagined terrors are blurred as Emily is drawn into a Gothic web of mystery and intrigue which threaten her not only with the loss of inheritance but also identity.

With its exotic historical setting, subtle psychology, teasing suspense and sublimely drawn landscapes, The Mysteries of Udolpho became an instant best-seller and the prototype of Gothic romance.

With a critical introduction setting the novel in its literary and historical context and explanatory notes