Reviews

A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe

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tom_f's review against another edition

2.0

too smitten with supposed international aristocratic virtues of politesse and good breeding to fully earn its critique of structural authority. don’t come here (as i did) expecting to learn anything about what was particularly sicilian about the sicilian ruling classes. some of the high-stakes action is quite fun.

ilseoo's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed the writing style, romantic nature descriptions, typical gothic elements, and intricate plot of this novel. The tension building in certain scenes was great and I really appreciate the commentary which the novel gives on patriarchy from the viewpoint of an eighteenth-century woman. My only dislikes are that some patterns and tension-building devices become repetitive during the final quarter of the book and that some scenes that keep the plot going are a bit too convenient.

mattia_bacchelli's review against another edition

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2.5

No chance you could see Palermo and Calabria from the same castle just took me out of the plot. The only proper description of this book is criminally predictable.

gracechrister's review against another edition

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3.0

every bitch has the same name in this fucking book

gregoreads's review against another edition

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2.0

Definitely a drop from Udolpho! It reads very distantly, and despite having all the great melodramatic trappings of the Gothic novel, ends up being pretty non-engaging and it’s easy to let your eyes glaze over. It’s pre-Udolpho so I can accept that she was still perfecting the craft. She certainly had the plot down, and a potentially endearing cast of characters, but for me, it just didn’t weave together very well.