&quot;The Romance of the Forest&quot;, first published in 1791, is a gothic classic, a style popularised by writers like Ann Radcliffe. They were often set in castles or great houses, involved a mystery, supernatural elements, a &#39;damsel in distress&#39; and typically an overpowering male figure. They were very popular during the Romantic period of British literature.<br />Rich in allusions to aesthetic theory and to travel literature, &quot;The Romance of the Forest&quot; is also concerned with current philosophical debate and examines systems of thought central to the intellectual life of late eighteenth-century Europe.&nbsp;<br /><br />Set in a Roman Catholic Europe of violent passions and extreme oppression, the novel follows the fate of its heroine Adeline, who is mysteriously placed under the protection of a family fleeing Paris for debt. They take refuge in a ruined abbey in south-eastern France, where sinister 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&#39;s proprietor, a libidinous Marquis whose attentions finally force her to contemplate escape to distant regions...<br />&nbsp;