"The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents" by Ann Radcliffe is a Gothic novel published in 1796. When Vincentio di Vivaldi falls for the beautiful but poor Ellena di Rosalba, his proud mother enlists her sinister confessor, Father Schedoni, to prevent their union. What follows is a dark tale of kidnapping, mysterious monks, the dungeons of the Inquisition, and shocking revelations that bind victim and villain in unexpected ways.