The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry

The author of this book is Ann Radcliffe, an English author and a pioneer of Gothic fiction. Radcliffe was the most popular writer of her day and almost universally admired; contemporary critics called her the mighty enchantress and the Shakespeare of romance-writers, and her popularity continued through the 19th century. Here, we are introduce to the character Madame de la Motte, who just left Paris in distraught.