Ann Ward Radcliffe was a nineteenth English century author and pioneer of the Gothic novel. Her novels involve innocent young woman who find themselves in mysterious gloomy castles with men who are even more mysterious having very sinister pasts. The fallen aristocrats from the house of Mazzini on the shores of Sicily have a stormy history. A tourist is fascinated by their story when a monk tells him their story while visiting the ruins of the castle. Radcliffe is able to combine the poetic with psychological terror to make her books true Gothic novels.