Reviews

A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe

eliothewitch's review against another edition

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3.0

My god was this a long book. It was alright, honestly. I was very excited to start this one because I've heard that the Gothic is a very cool genre, but I honestly don't care for it anymore. I skipped over a lot of the long landscape descriptions, and the parts in which actual action was happening seemed to only be happening by accident. Like, every time Julia seems to be stuck or about to get caught it just so happens that Ferdinand or Hippolitus or Madame are there to rescue her. It got kind of annoying after a while.

I've definitely read worse books, but this is not something I'd recommend to a friend.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!

The ending was surprising enough though. We'd discussed the book in class before I finished it, so I already knew about the marchioness being alive, but Maria and the marquis dying so violently was really unexpected. The only time during this book when I was truly on the edge of my seat was when I didn't know if the marchioness and Julia had eaten the poison. Though, I should've guess that once again a man would show up and save them.

river_dithers's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book! It moved very quickly and so it kept me attached to it over the two days I read it! In parts, it was quite dark, but overall relied upon the main characters' virtue as a means of hope. All the good characters performed virtuous, and the 'bad' ones were proud, or lacked shame in the negative things that they had done to others.

imogenrobinson__'s review against another edition

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1.0

Heavily reliant on tropes, circumstance, coincidence etc. I found the female characters pretty insufferable tbh - they're always trembling, cowering wrecks fainting and swooning all over the shop. Sure, the tyrannical patriarchal figure of the father is ultimately overcome, but Radcliffe could've developed these female characters a little bit more. I don't think it necessarily fits into the concept of the 'Female Gothic'. I guess it challenges coverture and the imprisoned mother is eventually freed, but idk I kind of feel like it reinforces a lot of the systems it (possibly) attempts to subvert.

taviamorgan's review against another edition

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4.0

i had to read this for my 17th and 18th century lit class and while it felt like it took me 500 years to read this only 200 page book i still really enjoyed it. the class and gender discussions were really great and while i maybe didn’t need all the descriptions of the landscape i did really like everything that was talked about. a solid story and i liked the mystery and love story. a solid book so while not the best thing i’ve ever read it was a good book especially for the class.

xxbelleeeexx's review against another edition

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Another book I had to read for a uni class and another one I’m not sure how to rate/how I feel about it. So I’m just going to leave it as is for the moment

readingoverbreathing's review against another edition

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4.0

"You will always be the sister of my heart — may you never be the partner of my misfortunes!"


alexiacambaling's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

xini's review against another edition

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2.0

i had to read it for class and they gave me two weeks to do it; im not able to enjoy books with a deadline. this being said:
a sicilian romance is a book that i'll probably won't even remember in a year. the story is repetitive, obvious and easy, even though the english is a bit hard (english being my third language).
i probably wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't mandatory for class.
even though it's classified as "gothic" it isn't even a bit spooky, and they just talk about the "strange sounds" in the first 50 pages of the book.
i didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't that bad either.

oliviabrisebois's review against another edition

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2.0

This novel had substance to it, but close to the end I simply stopped caring. I think gothic novels of this time period are very repetitive.

hangsangareader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

 A Sicilian Romance is another great book by Mrs. Radcliffe. She is a mysterious figure and also writes excellent fiction.

I will admit that a main character who passes out too much might be annoying, but Julia did try to keep herself from her father's plans in the face of so many tribulations that I must respect her. Ferdinand was also a favorite of mine in this book - this is what great brothers are made from.

The twists and turns had me. I listened to most of the book while walking my dog, and I must've looked silly, stopping and gasping as the story neared the end. I did not see that twist coming.

The use of horror and terror, or the focus on the Sublime, are excellent topics to consider while reading this. Pay attention to her word choice; Radcliffe was a master in her craft.