The Abbess
|
Title page from the first edition | |
| Author | William Henry Ireland |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Gothic novel |
| Publisher | Earle and Hemet |
Publication date | 1799 |
| Media type | |
| Pages |
264 (vol. 1), 240 (vol. 2), 215 (vol. 3), 212 (vol. 4) |
The Abbess: A Romance is a gothic novel by William Henry Ireland first published in 1799. The text was modelled upon Matthew Lewis's The Monk (1796).[1]
The eponymous central character, Mother Vittoria Bracciano, is a similar to that of 'Monk Lewis's Ambrosio as she is similarly motivated by dark and powerful forces.
The novel is one of the most voluptuous and salacious gothic novels in terms of its graphic scenes of sex, Roman Catholic religious fervour and torture.[2]
Influence on the Gothic Genre
According to Benjamin F. Fisher, Edgar Allan Poe was familiar with Ireland's work and The Abbess influenced some of the his macbre later works.[3]
Later 18th & 19th Century editions
- Initially published in 1796
- Republished in England 1799, printed for Earle and Hemet. The epigraph states that it is lifted from Shakespeare, however is actually taken from John Dryden's 1679 rewrite of Trolius and Cressida.[4] A full edition of the text can be read online here. With a further British edition published in 1834.
- In 1822 and 1836 there were two Spanish.
- In 1824, there was a German edition.
Bibliography
- Title The Abbess: A Romance, Volumen 1
- Author William Henry Ireland
- Editor Arno Press, 1974
- ISBN 0405060157, 9780405060151
- Page number 905 p
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Hughes, William; Punter, David (2012). The Encyclopedia of the Gothic. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 355. ISBN 1405182903.
- ↑ Haggerty, George (November 2004 – February 2005). "The Horrors of Catholicism: Religion and Sexuality in Gothic Fiction". Romanticism on the Net (issues 36-37). Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ↑ Fisher, B. F. (2006). Kahan, Jeffrey, ed. Foreword to The Abbess. Crestline, CA: Zittaw Press.
- ↑ Shakespearean Gothic. University of Wales Press. 2009-09-01. ISBN 9780708322628.
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