In The Foresters, Elizabeth Gunning offers an entertaining romp through the many tropes of Gothic literature, including clandestine marriages; tyrannous fathers; encounters with banditti; mysterious crypts; strange ceremonies conducted at midnight; sublime scenery; a spectre (or two); and inexplicable disembodied voices – to name but a few. Gunning employs all of these devices to create a compelling story combining the wildest elements of fiction with her own personal history and experience within eighteenth-century society, producing both a social document and an entertaining read. Considering multiple complex themes, this novel is not only an entertaining Gothic novel, but also presents some of the most pressing concerns of the day for consideration by the reader. Presented in print for the first time since 1796, the novel is accompanied here by a comprehensive introduction to the text and detailed scholarly notes.
