Mrs Barbauld, in her essay on Ann Radcliffe, considers that The Romance of the Forest (1791) is in some respects “perhaps the best” of all her novels. Mrs Barbauld writes that the story:
Turns upon the machinations of a profligate villain and his agent against an amiable and unprotected girl, whose birth and fortunes have been involved in obscurity by crime and perfidy. The character of La Motte, the agent, is drawn with spirit. He is weak and timid, gloomy and arbitrary in his family, drawn by extravagance into vice and atrocious actions; capable of remorse, but not capable of withstanding temptation. (Barbauld, ii)
Mrs Barbauld also compares The Romance of the Forest with Shakespeare’s King John, which serves to demonstrate not only Radcliffe’s literary influences, but also her developing seriousness as a writer. The...
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Citation: Webber, Caroline. "The Romance of the Forest". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7611, accessed 09 June 2026.]
