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What if the ruined abbey that shelters you belongs to the very man you need to fear?
In seventeenth-century France, Pierre de la Motte flees Paris with his wife, fearing arrest and ruin. They take in Adeline, a young woman cast adrift, and seek shelter deep in a forest. A crumbling abbey offers concealment, but its hidden rooms and La Motte’s strange moods make safety feel uncertain.
Then the Marquis de Montalt, owner of the abbey lands, takes a dangerous interest in Adeline. As she searches for safety and the truth about her birth, she meets Theodore Peyrou, a young officer drawn to her. In The Romance of the Forest, Ann Ward Radcliffe brings love and kindness into a world where wealth and rank can bend the law.
What you’ll discover
- Shelter shadowed by secrets Enter a ruined abbey where crumbling walls and hidden rooms turn refuge into unease.
- A heroine who thinks Follow Adeline as she seeks trustworthy people and thinks her way through danger.
- Love under threat Meet Theodore, whose affection for Adeline brings courage into a story shaped by pursuit.
- Fear with human roots Explore mysteries that seem supernatural while cruelty and greed offer a more human source of dread.
- Landscapes worth lingering over Pause among woods, mountains and lakes as Radcliffe gives natural beauty room beside suspense.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love atmospheric Gothic tales, ruined abbeys and storm-lit forests. It also rewards anyone curious about the roots of the mystery novel, or who enjoys a brave heroine.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger becomes an unexpected responsibility
- The abbey offers uneasy shelter
- Suspicion unsettles their fragile household
- The Marquis brings a hidden threat
- Hidden rooms give fear a direction
- Adeline refuses a dishonest promise
- Escape depends on more than cunning
- Beauty and danger shape each other
- Fear and reason work together
Who’s who
- AdelineA gentle, brave young woman with no family she can name, she wants safety and a home where she can trust those around her.
- Pierre de la MotteA ruined gentleman on the run from his creditors, he wants to stay hidden but is too weak to resist the people who control him.
- Madame de la MotteHis loyal wife, she wants to protect her family and her place in it, but jealousy and fear cloud her judgment.
- Louis de la MotteTheir soldier son, honest and warm, he tries to help his father and falls in love with Adeline.
- The Marquis de MontaltA rich, charming nobleman who holds La Motte in his power and pursues Adeline, he wants whatever he desires.
- TheodoreA young officer in the Marquis's service, he wants to warn Adeline of danger and win her love.
- PeterThe La Mottes' talkative servant, comic and loyal, he wants to do right by Adeline whatever his master says.
- La LucThe gentle pastor of a Savoy village, he wants to do good for his flock and his family.
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The Romance of the Forest
by Ann Ward Radcliffe · 1791
A ruined abbey in the forest of Fontanville hides a secret room, a rusted dagger and a faded manuscript.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Let us enjoy the good and forget the bad.”
In short
A carriage leaves Paris at midnight. Inside sits Pierre de la Motte, a gentleman who has spent his fortune and now runs from his creditors and the law.
The Romance of the Forest at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 50 min7 h fast, 10 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 126,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1791by Ann Ward Radcliffe
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A ruined gentleman is handed a stranger
Pierre de la Motte comes from an old French family. He spent his wife's money and his own on the pleasures of Paris. When debts and a failed scheme bring the law down on him, he flees by night with his wife and two servants, Peter and Annette.
He is not wicked, but he is weak. His feelings rule his principles, and that weakness will drive much of the plot.
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Details
- First published
- 1791
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Radcliffe, Ann Ward. The Romance of the Forest. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-romance-of-the-forest.
Radcliffe, A. W. (2026). The romance of the forest. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-romance-of-the-forest (Original work published 1791)
Radcliffe, Ann Ward. The Romance of the Forest. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-romance-of-the-forest.
@book{radcliffe2026romance,
author = {Radcliffe, Ann Ward},
title = {The Romance of the Forest},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-romance-of-the-forest},
note = {First published 1791}
}
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What is The Romance of the Forest about?
It follows Adeline, a young woman who falls into the care of a fugitive family and shelters in a ruined abbey. There she finds secret rooms and a manuscript, and is pursued by a powerful marquis.
Who is the Marquis de Montalt?
He is a wealthy, charming nobleman who owns the abbey and the forest around it. He holds La Motte in his power and pursues Adeline, becoming the main threat to her safety.
When was The Romance of the Forest written?
Ann Ward Radcliffe wrote it in the late eighteenth century, and it is set in seventeenth century France. It is a work of fiction, though its opening refers to real legal records.
The author
Ann Ward Radcliffe
1764–1823 · English Gothic novelist
Ann Radcliffe, born Ann Ward, was an English novelist. She was born in London in 1764 and died there in 1823. She married William Radcliffe, a journalist, in 1787. Her novels include A Sicilian Romance (1790), The Romance of the Forest (1791), and The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794).
“Let us enjoy the good and forget the bad.”
More by Ann Ward Radcliffe
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