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Zofloya
Few venture as thou hast in the alarming paths of sin.
This is the final judgement of Satan on Victoria di Loredani, the heroine of Zofloya, or The Moor (1806), a tale of lust, betrayal, and multiple murder set in Venice in the last days of the fifteenth century. The novel follows Victoria's progress from spoilt daughter of indulgent aristocrats, through a period of abuse and captivity, to a career of deepening criminality conducted under Satan's watchful eye.
Charlotte Dacre's narrative deftly displays her heroine's movement from the vitalized position of Ann Radcliffe's heroines to a fully conscious commitment to vice that goes beyond that of 'Monk' Lewis's deluded Ambrosio.
The novel's most daring aspect is its anatomy of Victoria's intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya that transgresses taboos both of class and race. A minor scandal on its first publication, and a significant influence on Byron and Shelley, Zofloya has been unduly neglected. Contradicting idealized stereotypes of women's writing, the novel's portrait of indulged desire, gratuitous cruelty, and monumental self-absorption retains considerable power to disturb.
This is the final judgement of Satan on Victoria di Loredani, the heroine of Zofloya, or The Moor (1806), a tale of lust, betrayal, and multiple murder set in Venice in the last days of the fifteenth century. The novel follows Victoria's progress from spoilt daughter of indulgent aristocrats, through a period of abuse and captivity, to a career of deepening criminality conducted under Satan's watchful eye.
Charlotte Dacre's narrative deftly displays her heroine's movement from the vitalized position of Ann Radcliffe's heroines to a fully conscious commitment to vice that goes beyond that of 'Monk' Lewis's deluded Ambrosio.
The novel's most daring aspect is its anatomy of Victoria's intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya that transgresses taboos both of class and race. A minor scandal on its first publication, and a significant influence on Byron and Shelley, Zofloya has been unduly neglected. Contradicting idealized stereotypes of women's writing, the novel's portrait of indulged desire, gratuitous cruelty, and monumental self-absorption retains considerable power to disturb.
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1806
163 people are currently reading
14014 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Dacre
36 books47 followersMost commonly known as Charlotte Dacre, she was born Charlotte King in either 1771 or 1772. She published fiction, poetry, and lyrics, alternately using the names Charlotte King, Rosa Matilda, and Charlotte Dacre.
She married Nicholas Byrne, editor of the Morning Post, and her obituary in 1825 referred to her as Charlotte Byrne.
Today, she is known for her contributions to Gothic fiction, most notably with Zofloya.
She married Nicholas Byrne, editor of the Morning Post, and her obituary in 1825 referred to her as Charlotte Byrne.
Today, she is known for her contributions to Gothic fiction, most notably with Zofloya.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 350 reviews
September 29, 2010
Hey, Oxford University Press, you know what would be great? If there's a SHOCKING TWIST on page 267 of a 268-page book, don't give it away on the book's back cover.
December 17, 2021
Zofloya is a pre-Freud gothic novel first published in 1806, but it often seems informed by modern theories of sexual psychology. Much of the drama arises from megalomania in the characters' brains. This includes a philandering man with a fetish for married women. He has the very specific goal of using his charms to wreck happy homes. Then there’s the young Leonardo who thinks himself above temptation, but soon finds himself the love slave of a nineteenth century dominatrix.
Generally, Zofloya is far more interested in the sexuality of women than men. Readers were scandalized in its day for the graphic depiction of female lust, including one diabolical villainess who commits mass murder as a means to sleeping with her husband’s brother. With the aid of a magic potion, she even accomplishes the rarely-examined act of male rape.
Naturally, male critics were not happy. One of the original reviews lambasted Dacre, saying the “female mind” should not have the capacity to conjure narratives with such a flagrant “exhibition of wantonness of harlotry.”
Shocking readers was likely Dacre’s goal, however. Zofloya was written to be a female counterpart to Matthew Lewis’ salacious novel The Monk (1796). The Monk depicts a young monk’s dramatic fall from grace as he discovers sexuality for the first time and sells his soul for the ability to rape pretty girls around Madrid. While Lewis’ book was also controversial, male critics were surprisingly forgiving of rape in that novel. Instead they focused their shock on minor examples of sacrilege, such as a brief comment suggesting one can learn sexual perversions from reading the Bible.
Perhaps it is also a testament to the reality of male-dominated academia that The Monk remains an enduring classic while Zofloya is all but forgotten. Dacre’s novel is just as compelling, provocative, multi-faceted, thought-provoking, scary, and entertaining as The Monk—and yet this Oxford World’s Classic edition is the only re-printing by a major publisher. I imagine one could get an entire PhD in nineteenth century literature and never read Zofloya. Only Gothic specialists, it seems, have it on their radar. And even they may miss it.
That’s a shame. Zofloya has its problems, including psychological theories that are questionable by today’s standards, xenophobic character depiction, and sheer overabundance of melodrama. But it also demands readers ask big questions, confront the possibilities of nature versus nurture, and consider extreme examples of lust. The book may be over 200 years old, but its topics continue to startle and reveal understudied aspects of the human psyche. Add a splash of supernatural and murder plots that would make Soap Operas blush, and you have quite an enthralling thriller.
Will this classic ever receive the attention it deserves? Maybe. A search through University libraries reveals that there’s an increasingly large number of dissertations exclusively focused on Zofloya. Even if professors aren’t assigning it for class, scholars have discovered the novel and find a lot to obsess over. It is one of those novels where the emotional impact lasts long after the final page. I’m not surprised at all that literature buffs are devoting their life’s work to its pages.
Also interesting—just a few months ago, Zofloya was released as an audiobook for the first time ever. Perhaps this is another sign of growing enthusiasm? Maybe a movie version will come next? I wouldn’t be surprised. Keep an eye on this forgotten classic. Word-of-mouth could make it popular once again.
Generally, Zofloya is far more interested in the sexuality of women than men. Readers were scandalized in its day for the graphic depiction of female lust, including one diabolical villainess who commits mass murder as a means to sleeping with her husband’s brother. With the aid of a magic potion, she even accomplishes the rarely-examined act of male rape.
Naturally, male critics were not happy. One of the original reviews lambasted Dacre, saying the “female mind” should not have the capacity to conjure narratives with such a flagrant “exhibition of wantonness of harlotry.”
Shocking readers was likely Dacre’s goal, however. Zofloya was written to be a female counterpart to Matthew Lewis’ salacious novel The Monk (1796). The Monk depicts a young monk’s dramatic fall from grace as he discovers sexuality for the first time and sells his soul for the ability to rape pretty girls around Madrid. While Lewis’ book was also controversial, male critics were surprisingly forgiving of rape in that novel. Instead they focused their shock on minor examples of sacrilege, such as a brief comment suggesting one can learn sexual perversions from reading the Bible.
Perhaps it is also a testament to the reality of male-dominated academia that The Monk remains an enduring classic while Zofloya is all but forgotten. Dacre’s novel is just as compelling, provocative, multi-faceted, thought-provoking, scary, and entertaining as The Monk—and yet this Oxford World’s Classic edition is the only re-printing by a major publisher. I imagine one could get an entire PhD in nineteenth century literature and never read Zofloya. Only Gothic specialists, it seems, have it on their radar. And even they may miss it.
That’s a shame. Zofloya has its problems, including psychological theories that are questionable by today’s standards, xenophobic character depiction, and sheer overabundance of melodrama. But it also demands readers ask big questions, confront the possibilities of nature versus nurture, and consider extreme examples of lust. The book may be over 200 years old, but its topics continue to startle and reveal understudied aspects of the human psyche. Add a splash of supernatural and murder plots that would make Soap Operas blush, and you have quite an enthralling thriller.
Will this classic ever receive the attention it deserves? Maybe. A search through University libraries reveals that there’s an increasingly large number of dissertations exclusively focused on Zofloya. Even if professors aren’t assigning it for class, scholars have discovered the novel and find a lot to obsess over. It is one of those novels where the emotional impact lasts long after the final page. I’m not surprised at all that literature buffs are devoting their life’s work to its pages.
Also interesting—just a few months ago, Zofloya was released as an audiobook for the first time ever. Perhaps this is another sign of growing enthusiasm? Maybe a movie version will come next? I wouldn’t be surprised. Keep an eye on this forgotten classic. Word-of-mouth could make it popular once again.
June 11, 2017
Seduction! Betrayal! Jealousy! Rage! Lust! Murder! Bandits! Satan!
“Zofloya” is a gloriously melodramatic gothic story of lust, revenge and violence, beginning with an adulterous liaison and family scandal and ending with multiple murders. It is a deliciously over the top tale with passions running high and people plunging daggers into breasts left, right and centre! Great stuff :-)
I came across this book when researching a reading challenge task to read a book published during the lifetime of Jane Austen. This was published in 1806 and caused quite a stir by all accounts, especially as it was written by a woman, and the female protagonist is lustful and violent. A less Jane Austen-y heroine is hard to imagine!
I read the Oxford World’s Classics edition. As another reviewer has pointed out, the blurb of the book contains a massive spoiler so watch out for that, if that’s something you want to avoid. I’d recommend holding off on the introduction until after reading the book, for the same reason.
Favourite quote from the introduction: “A mother-hating triple murderess who dreams of sexual congress with a demon of colour has not been judged a proper role model for the young reader either in the last century or in this.” I can't imagine why!
“Zofloya” is a gloriously melodramatic gothic story of lust, revenge and violence, beginning with an adulterous liaison and family scandal and ending with multiple murders. It is a deliciously over the top tale with passions running high and people plunging daggers into breasts left, right and centre! Great stuff :-)
I came across this book when researching a reading challenge task to read a book published during the lifetime of Jane Austen. This was published in 1806 and caused quite a stir by all accounts, especially as it was written by a woman, and the female protagonist is lustful and violent. A less Jane Austen-y heroine is hard to imagine!
I read the Oxford World’s Classics edition. As another reviewer has pointed out, the blurb of the book contains a massive spoiler so watch out for that, if that’s something you want to avoid. I’d recommend holding off on the introduction until after reading the book, for the same reason.
Favourite quote from the introduction: “A mother-hating triple murderess who dreams of sexual congress with a demon of colour has not been judged a proper role model for the young reader either in the last century or in this.” I can't imagine why!
December 15, 2024
One of my new favourites of all time !! The first 100 pages especially are outstanding! xx
May 26, 2011
Deliciously Gothic. I rather liked the melodramatic & excessive language -- namely because it was used in an ironic manner. Dacre's heroine is a refreshing change from the passive and insipid Gothic heroines of tradition, and I like her message that the 19th century belief of the Angel/Whore dichotomy is patriarchal, socially constructed, and unnatural.
February 20, 2019
2.5 Stars
I started out liking this but as it progressed it got a little to melodramatic. I can definitely see why this novel caused waves when published- it’s very scandalous and sexual for its time. However, I’ve come to realize that I am not a fan of gothic novels as a whole and it seems that not even the drama of murder and lust can change that.
I started out liking this but as it progressed it got a little to melodramatic. I can definitely see why this novel caused waves when published- it’s very scandalous and sexual for its time. However, I’ve come to realize that I am not a fan of gothic novels as a whole and it seems that not even the drama of murder and lust can change that.
March 7, 2025
It’s veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery corny! 🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🙀
May 15, 2020
I'm debating between four and five stars on this one. It's not perfect, but it is entertaining. When it was first published it was compared to Matthew Lewis's The Monk, and people were absolutely appalled that a woman wrote this. Victoria makes for an interesting and unlikable character, and I was fascinated by the story. I'm going to stick with four stars, though, but I guess I might change that in a day or two.
Definitely worth checking out if you like early Gothic novels!
Definitely worth checking out if you like early Gothic novels!
November 12, 2022
I absolutely loved this classic. It had everything I adored in it and the main character was so interesting I never got bored. The writing was beautiful and the world building was fantasy. Charlotte dacre i love you
February 5, 2025
everyone loves to read about horrible women nowadays, but have you even read the og, zofloya, or the moor? deception! adultery! intrigue! murder! the rotten nature of men on display! dacre spins a tale of how our parent's sins influence us into adulthood, and warns us of the dangers of selfishness and cruelty. truly a page turner, and the most fun i've had in a long time.
September 30, 2025
Che viaggio incredibile. Ne parliamo presto e meglio ma intanto: CHE VIAGGIO INCREDIBILE.
«Tale è il modo in cui le menti viziate si aggrappano a qualsiasi pretesto per compiere il male.»
Raccontare 𝐙𝐨𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚 non è semplice, perché il rischio di dire di più è dietro l’angolo e tuttə dovrebbero avere l’opportunità di leggerlo come è capitato a me: senza sapere - quasi - niente.
Scritto nel 1806 e ambientato nel Quattrocento a Venezia, questo romanzo ha tutte le caratteristiche per essere una storia a puntate e, perché no?, anche una serie tv. Incalzante, irriverente e profondamente moderno, 𝐙𝐨𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚 racconta di una famiglia nobile, i Loredan, che progressivamente arriva a perdere tutto a causa del male che si insinua pian piano in tutti i suoi membri. Protagonista di buona parte della vicenda è la figlia di famiglia, Vittoria, ribelle, caparbia, egoista e un’antieroina perfetta, che non solo ricerca i propri interessi, ma anche arriva ad essere crudele e senza speranza di redenzione. Ad aiutarla c’è Zofloya, un servo che sembra saper sempre quando comparire e come aiutarla a perseguire i suoi piani.
La bellezza di questo romanzo sta sicuramente nella voce narrante, onnisciente ed ironica, perfettamente in linea con i tipi di narrazione del periodo di composizione. Eppure ciò che, terminata la lettura, resta maggiormente è quanto la storia che abbiamo letto è moderna, femminista e gotica.
Non stupisce che ai tempi in cui scriveva, Dacre venisse considerata immorale e scandalosa, al punto che solo negli anni Novanta del Novecento è stata nuovamente considerata e inserita nei programmi di letteratura gotica.
Dal 1 Ottobre è disponibile in tutte le librerie convenzionate con Storie effimere e sul sito della CE. Fatevi un regalo e leggetelo: non solo vi terrà compagnia per la prosa avvincente, ma saprà regalarvi una protagonista senza pari.
«Tale è il modo in cui le menti viziate si aggrappano a qualsiasi pretesto per compiere il male.»
Raccontare 𝐙𝐨𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚 non è semplice, perché il rischio di dire di più è dietro l’angolo e tuttə dovrebbero avere l’opportunità di leggerlo come è capitato a me: senza sapere - quasi - niente.
Scritto nel 1806 e ambientato nel Quattrocento a Venezia, questo romanzo ha tutte le caratteristiche per essere una storia a puntate e, perché no?, anche una serie tv. Incalzante, irriverente e profondamente moderno, 𝐙𝐨𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚 racconta di una famiglia nobile, i Loredan, che progressivamente arriva a perdere tutto a causa del male che si insinua pian piano in tutti i suoi membri. Protagonista di buona parte della vicenda è la figlia di famiglia, Vittoria, ribelle, caparbia, egoista e un’antieroina perfetta, che non solo ricerca i propri interessi, ma anche arriva ad essere crudele e senza speranza di redenzione. Ad aiutarla c’è Zofloya, un servo che sembra saper sempre quando comparire e come aiutarla a perseguire i suoi piani.
La bellezza di questo romanzo sta sicuramente nella voce narrante, onnisciente ed ironica, perfettamente in linea con i tipi di narrazione del periodo di composizione. Eppure ciò che, terminata la lettura, resta maggiormente è quanto la storia che abbiamo letto è moderna, femminista e gotica.
Non stupisce che ai tempi in cui scriveva, Dacre venisse considerata immorale e scandalosa, al punto che solo negli anni Novanta del Novecento è stata nuovamente considerata e inserita nei programmi di letteratura gotica.
Dal 1 Ottobre è disponibile in tutte le librerie convenzionate con Storie effimere e sul sito della CE. Fatevi un regalo e leggetelo: non solo vi terrà compagnia per la prosa avvincente, ma saprà regalarvi una protagonista senza pari.
November 8, 2025
“[...]dare my guilty heart admit the horrible acknowledgment that I love you still?—you whom my bewildered reason shews me at once a seducer and a murderer. Oh, wretch! that can cherish such sentiments!—for what am I reserved?—But mark my determination—it is to see you no more.”
Zofloya, published in 1806, is what I perceive to be a feminist retelling of Lewis' 1796, The Monk. Set in 15th century Venice, spoiled Victoria de Loredani wants everything she can have and more—but isn't willing to give up her reputation for it. Victoria lives in a lavish palazzo in Italy, with her parents & brother. Her family lives peacefully until her father's friend inserts himself into their lives—with the goal of stealing her mother away from her father, & corrupting her in the process.
This is what plants the first seed in Victoria's mind. She's seen the impurity of the world first hand. Witnessed how far people will go to get revenge for the ones that they love. But the essence of the novels lies within the question: Just how far is she willing to go? Zofloya is a critique of race and class disparity, and a novel that directly subverts the stereotypical gothic feminine that is seen in its earlier counterpart The Monk.
Unlike The Monk, strong women are a perpetual overarching point in the novel. They are not submissive, nor coy—they are just as cunning as their male counterparts. Dacre's novel was so important for its time, due to the "unwomanly" way her characters acted. There's manipulation, rejection, voyeurism, domination, control—all things that were unbecoming for women of their period.
And I'm not sure that anyone reads these, but this review is unfortunately more lackluster than I'd like it to be. I loved this novel! So much so that I wrote blocks of text and accidentally deleted my entire review. LOL. This is a less impressive, rewritten version of my initial thoughts and weak analysis.
“Reader—consider not this as a romance merely.—Over their passions and their weaknesses, mortals cannot keep a curb too strong. The progress of vice is gradual and imperceptible, and the arch enemy ever waits to take advantage of the failings of mankind, whose destruction is his glory! That his seductions may prevail, we dare not doubt; for can we otherwise account for those crimes, dreadful and repugnant to nature, which human beings are sometimes tempted to commit? Either we must suppose that the love of evil is born with us (which would be an insult to the Deity), or we must attribute them (as appears more consonant with reason) to the suggestions of infernal influence."
Zofloya, published in 1806, is what I perceive to be a feminist retelling of Lewis' 1796, The Monk. Set in 15th century Venice, spoiled Victoria de Loredani wants everything she can have and more—but isn't willing to give up her reputation for it. Victoria lives in a lavish palazzo in Italy, with her parents & brother. Her family lives peacefully until her father's friend inserts himself into their lives—with the goal of stealing her mother away from her father, & corrupting her in the process.
This is what plants the first seed in Victoria's mind. She's seen the impurity of the world first hand. Witnessed how far people will go to get revenge for the ones that they love. But the essence of the novels lies within the question: Just how far is she willing to go? Zofloya is a critique of race and class disparity, and a novel that directly subverts the stereotypical gothic feminine that is seen in its earlier counterpart The Monk.
Unlike The Monk, strong women are a perpetual overarching point in the novel. They are not submissive, nor coy—they are just as cunning as their male counterparts. Dacre's novel was so important for its time, due to the "unwomanly" way her characters acted. There's manipulation, rejection, voyeurism, domination, control—all things that were unbecoming for women of their period.
And I'm not sure that anyone reads these, but this review is unfortunately more lackluster than I'd like it to be. I loved this novel! So much so that I wrote blocks of text and accidentally deleted my entire review. LOL. This is a less impressive, rewritten version of my initial thoughts and weak analysis.
“Reader—consider not this as a romance merely.—Over their passions and their weaknesses, mortals cannot keep a curb too strong. The progress of vice is gradual and imperceptible, and the arch enemy ever waits to take advantage of the failings of mankind, whose destruction is his glory! That his seductions may prevail, we dare not doubt; for can we otherwise account for those crimes, dreadful and repugnant to nature, which human beings are sometimes tempted to commit? Either we must suppose that the love of evil is born with us (which would be an insult to the Deity), or we must attribute them (as appears more consonant with reason) to the suggestions of infernal influence."
October 17, 2011
Minor spoilers. Highly Recommended for fans or students of gothic lit, 18th/19th century lit, psychological lit, women's lit. Zofloya has to be one of the most unusual books I've read from a multitude of perspectives, from very frank sexuality to a wicked, and relatively graphic, amount of bloodshed--especially the last 50 pages. Victoria is certainly one of the most compellingly wicked heroines in literature--her selfishness is so apparent, so over the top, at times it's transformed into black humor. Be prepared for all the traditional gothic scaffolding--language, lightning storms galore, supernatural effects, otherworldly scenery, stilted language, an incredibly dysfunctional family, and narrative detours that can make the journey rather tedious for several chapters. Dacre is no Austen, Zofloya doesn't enter the scene until well into the book, and the focus on other family members was somewhat distracting (Victoria doesn't reach her wicked zenith until the last 50 pages). Also, much has been made about Victoria's morphing into a darker, more masculine creature over the course of the novel--but I think that's just typical over-reach on the part of some critics (I'd expected Victoria to undergo a Hulk-like transformation--thankfully, no). This is a great novel for college courses, book groups, etc., especially for readers with a solid background in the more traditional Radcliffe gothic or charming Austen heroines. Note: While I applaud Adriana Craciun (editor) for her efforts to have the book re-published, I agree with the reviewer who criticized Broadview Press for including a major plot spoiler on the back cover of the novel. If you can find a different edition (or avoid reading the back cover of the BP edition), do so.
October 12, 2008
I wasn't sure whether to give this book three or four stars. The writing is more deserving of three stars; however, this novel marks a very different direction in gothic literature. Often considered simply a retelling of Lewis' The Monk with a female Ambrosio, Zofloya is much more. First of all, unlike Radcliffe's ,The Italian, also a retelling of The Monk, Dacre constructs a very different plot. She also avoids religion, so unlike Lewis' book, this one cannot be seen as being anti-Catholic. Victoria also marks a new kind of character: a female "demon" who does not look in the least demonic. She is also fully realized sexually. She is the precursor of characters like Lady Audley. Zofloya is far away from the "terror" novels of Anne Radcliffe and may be the first example of a horror novel written by a woman.
February 3, 2022
I don’t think I enjoyed this quite as much as I did The Monk but it’s a super close call. Dacre’s description of nature and the sublime in general is nuts. The lengthy dialogue was jarring at first but I eventually grew to enjoy each character’s crazy monologues. The explanatory notes were really funny, too. Dacre really seemed to have no clue what the actual geography of Italy is and I loved it
January 13, 2023
Well--spoiler alert--this fairly good Gothic romance suffers a bit, in modern eyes certainly, for being mostly a rewrite of Matthew Lewis's Gothic masterpiece, The Monk. What salvages it, and makes Zofloya quite interesting, despite the plot givaway for those who've already read Lewis's romance, is the gender reversal. Here we have a female protagonist (well, I guess an anti-heroine) falling headfirst into Satan's trap, rather than the proud and guileless monk Ambrosio. It's well worth a read for that, and its second half is filled with nonstop Gothic action, nastiness, and horror.
Unfortunately, the first half, without much in the way of Gothic trappings, reads less like a romance and more like a rather poor, slightly hyped-up sentimental novel. This too imitates The Monk to a certain extent. In my Grove press edition of The Monk, the critic's introduction claims that it's one of the greatest novel of the English tradition, but also that it's the one that takes the longest to declare its greatness. Indeed, The Monk takes us through a serviceable but unremarkable seduction and then into a long digression of a voyage to Italy and a bloody encounter with some banditti, before it really gets going with the episode of the Bleeding Nun, the pregnant nun, and then its main story of Ambrosio's greater seduction and execrable actions. Thus I encourage you to stick with Zofloya's first half to get to its meat, as it were, for it does pay off pretty well in the novel's action-packed rip-roaring second half.
For scholars of Gothic, Zofloya is important as an example of a female author firmly writing in what critic Ann Williams considers to be the male Gothic mode. Here the supernatural is real, the focus is on the sinner and their sins rather than their sins' hapless victims. Like The Monk, though, the moral of the story is still to encourage rectitude against Satan's temptations to jealousy, torture, and murder, but, in order to write such a cautionary tale you have to describe the horror (real blood and guts stuff, as opposed to the usually suggested "terror" of writers like Anne Radcliffe). Williams suggests that male authors only pretend to have a moral and really write the blood and guts for us to sadistically enjoy. After all, that's up to the reader. Dacre indeed makes the moral more explicit than Lewis (even adding a short postface explaining the text's moral and how we should take it), but the narrative still wallows in its gory excesses shamelessly.
Sadly, though, this romance is rather archly and even off-puttingly written. I just finished Regina Maria Roche's straight up romance Children of the Abbey--written about the same time as Zofloya--which is very smoothly and invitingly written, so Zofloya might have struck me badly via the comparison. The syntax is so formal here that I often got lost wading through the grammatical structure of some of the sentences, something Roche never forced me to do.
As for Gothic trappings, there's a lot to enjoy: the Italian setting, Venice as a shady, paranoid and very proud society of wickedly passionate noblemen and women, a den of banditti, a secluded villa in the Apennines, lots of blazing stilletto-play and women chained up in caverns. It certainly got me in the Holloween spirit, I must say. Ave Satana!
Unfortunately, the first half, without much in the way of Gothic trappings, reads less like a romance and more like a rather poor, slightly hyped-up sentimental novel. This too imitates The Monk to a certain extent. In my Grove press edition of The Monk, the critic's introduction claims that it's one of the greatest novel of the English tradition, but also that it's the one that takes the longest to declare its greatness. Indeed, The Monk takes us through a serviceable but unremarkable seduction and then into a long digression of a voyage to Italy and a bloody encounter with some banditti, before it really gets going with the episode of the Bleeding Nun, the pregnant nun, and then its main story of Ambrosio's greater seduction and execrable actions. Thus I encourage you to stick with Zofloya's first half to get to its meat, as it were, for it does pay off pretty well in the novel's action-packed rip-roaring second half.
For scholars of Gothic, Zofloya is important as an example of a female author firmly writing in what critic Ann Williams considers to be the male Gothic mode. Here the supernatural is real, the focus is on the sinner and their sins rather than their sins' hapless victims. Like The Monk, though, the moral of the story is still to encourage rectitude against Satan's temptations to jealousy, torture, and murder, but, in order to write such a cautionary tale you have to describe the horror (real blood and guts stuff, as opposed to the usually suggested "terror" of writers like Anne Radcliffe). Williams suggests that male authors only pretend to have a moral and really write the blood and guts for us to sadistically enjoy. After all, that's up to the reader. Dacre indeed makes the moral more explicit than Lewis (even adding a short postface explaining the text's moral and how we should take it), but the narrative still wallows in its gory excesses shamelessly.
Sadly, though, this romance is rather archly and even off-puttingly written. I just finished Regina Maria Roche's straight up romance Children of the Abbey--written about the same time as Zofloya--which is very smoothly and invitingly written, so Zofloya might have struck me badly via the comparison. The syntax is so formal here that I often got lost wading through the grammatical structure of some of the sentences, something Roche never forced me to do.
As for Gothic trappings, there's a lot to enjoy: the Italian setting, Venice as a shady, paranoid and very proud society of wickedly passionate noblemen and women, a den of banditti, a secluded villa in the Apennines, lots of blazing stilletto-play and women chained up in caverns. It certainly got me in the Holloween spirit, I must say. Ave Satana!
January 31, 2018
As far as the Gothic genre goes, this is a stunner. It encompasses both the traditional features of the Gothic whilst also subverting them. That’s no small feat for the clever Dacre in 1806. I just adore her female villains and the way she describes them. I have been studying the Gothic and this is the only one that has arisen which features women who are not just the damsels in distress and where masculinity is very much sidelined. Gender roles are here subverted and redefined. Victoria is absolutely feminine but also masculine and in depicting both Dacre hints at the ridiculousness of such polarities... in 1806! I enjoyed this so much. It was very welcome after Ann Radcliffe. It’s been compared to The Monk for more than mere coincidental features, as a female reaction even, I’ve yet to finish that one but I’m not too bothered. This is a very clever piece of its own.
Victoria and Leonardo are children of Laurina and the Marchese di Loredani in Venice, a loving a doting couple—seemingly inseparable. Of course they are and we see the supposed influence of a mother’s decline on her children as the story unfurls from their mother’s betrayal of the family. An eventful decline into evil with a Moor at Victoria’s heel follows from there. Women bring down all the men in this! I think before it all goes too far for Victoria we see a young woman of real strength in Victoria who won’t be confined and virtuous and won’t follow any other order except that she chooses. It really is fascinating given the time it was written. Zofloya was written just after the French Revolution, at a time of political and social upheaval for Britain too and Mary Wollstonecraft, with whom Dacre was friendly with, had written A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Dacre might be exampling Wollstonecraft’s suggestion that children, women, follow from their mothers’ example or she might be satirising it. These kids go far above anything their mother does but still blame her.
Come for the amazing descriptions of bold and dangerous ladies and stay for the hugely interesting gender, political and racial dichotomies and commentaries all with a melodramatic Gothic polish.
Victoria and Leonardo are children of Laurina and the Marchese di Loredani in Venice, a loving a doting couple—seemingly inseparable. Of course they are and we see the supposed influence of a mother’s decline on her children as the story unfurls from their mother’s betrayal of the family. An eventful decline into evil with a Moor at Victoria’s heel follows from there. Women bring down all the men in this! I think before it all goes too far for Victoria we see a young woman of real strength in Victoria who won’t be confined and virtuous and won’t follow any other order except that she chooses. It really is fascinating given the time it was written. Zofloya was written just after the French Revolution, at a time of political and social upheaval for Britain too and Mary Wollstonecraft, with whom Dacre was friendly with, had written A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Dacre might be exampling Wollstonecraft’s suggestion that children, women, follow from their mothers’ example or she might be satirising it. These kids go far above anything their mother does but still blame her.
Come for the amazing descriptions of bold and dangerous ladies and stay for the hugely interesting gender, political and racial dichotomies and commentaries all with a melodramatic Gothic polish.
October 30, 2020
The book is called Zofloya yet you won't see him after the first hundred (and a bit) pages. And when he does appear he doesn't manage to rescue the story from being a bore-fest.
Want to read
January 27, 2022OMGOMGOMG???? this has sapphic longing?!?!?!?!?
November 5, 2013
I have read this one for a course I have been doing on Gothic Literature and it is, so far, my favourite text to date. The story features the fantastic Victoria, who is the real protagonist of the novel (Zofloya, the eponymous character, not making an appearance until the last 100 pages). Victoria is everything a hero should be (I say hero, because she is very manly in the way she takes control of her situation - in fact, there is not much of the typical early 19th Century heroine about her). Indeed, it could be argued that she really doesn't need to sell her soul to Zofloya at all as she is perfectly determined and capable enough of achieving her own ends through her own stubborn will. There is something so wonderful about her - she is so resolute and determined. In contrast to her, there is her rather weak-willed brother, Leonardo, reduced to becoming a would-be assassin and leader of banditti, and at the mercy of another resolute strong woman, Megalena.
This is a fantastic story. Zofloya, or the devil made flesh, is undeniably sexy as Dacre renders him and there is no denying the attraction which Victoria feels for him, almost simultaneously with the fear he invokes within her. His supernatural nature is subtly rendered for the reader - filling Victoria's chamber with silvery mist just before he materialises at the end of her bed and all those mysterious appearances and disappearances, just when he is wanted most.
Not to be missed - I'd never heard of this book before the course but would definitely recommend it for any one who is interested in Gothic or 19th Century literature.
I particularly liked the Broadview Literary Texts edition as it had a great piece on Nyphomania at the end which informed Dacre's work, some fantastic contemporaneous reviews (it was largely slated which just goes to show what critics know!) and a fabulous example of a gothic chapbook which completely plagiarises the work. Definitely worth the extra expense for this edition.
This is a fantastic story. Zofloya, or the devil made flesh, is undeniably sexy as Dacre renders him and there is no denying the attraction which Victoria feels for him, almost simultaneously with the fear he invokes within her. His supernatural nature is subtly rendered for the reader - filling Victoria's chamber with silvery mist just before he materialises at the end of her bed and all those mysterious appearances and disappearances, just when he is wanted most.
Not to be missed - I'd never heard of this book before the course but would definitely recommend it for any one who is interested in Gothic or 19th Century literature.
I particularly liked the Broadview Literary Texts edition as it had a great piece on Nyphomania at the end which informed Dacre's work, some fantastic contemporaneous reviews (it was largely slated which just goes to show what critics know!) and a fabulous example of a gothic chapbook which completely plagiarises the work. Definitely worth the extra expense for this edition.
July 5, 2021
Girlboss unknowingly collaborates with the devil. Gothic Italy. All very lovely but the language was a bit of a drag.
October 22, 2021
I'm a sucker for Georgian-era gothic madonna/whore-themed melodramas, what can I say?
December 10, 2024
The embodiment of hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Can’t tell if this was protofeminist or anti? Regardless, who doesn’t love a raging bitch😝 Def gonna write my seminar paper on this book.
January 8, 2025
It took me a little bit of time to initially get into this, but I’m surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. Compared to other early 19th century novels I’ve read, I found the momentum and pace of events to be really engaging. Strong start to the module💪🏼
August 11, 2024
Charlotte Dacre’s in-depth exploration of human psychology is unnerving to the point of questioning the reader’s own mental order. Some might feel Dacre holds up a mirror to their suppressed desires and dark fantasies. Don’t expect Radcliffean descriptive passages to soothe the reader; the Gothic horror was all the stronger without them. Read this book and enjoy, but remember it has the power to disturb.
February 18, 2024
Before Zofloya: 3 ⭐ Enjoyable but slow
After Zofloya: 5 ⭐ Ate it for breakfast, lunch & dinner
After Zofloya: 5 ⭐ Ate it for breakfast, lunch & dinner
January 13, 2025
This was such a good read, a great start for my gothic module. I really enjoyed the second half of the book, where basically the crazy shit happens. So many interesting points, from gender norms, to race, to sexuality and religion etc
October 6, 2025
What a wild, extremely melodramatic ride.
It was easy to slot characters/actions in this book into modern parallels such as Killing Eve, soap operas, trashy reality tv, the Satanic Panic, Kick Ass, Mean Girls, Sex in the City, & more, followed by a tell-all interview with Oprah where a known "bad girl" blames her evilness on her mom's lax parenting & loose morals. If ever a Gothic novel plot was made for our era of tweets & TikToks, this is it.
Which is quite a feat considering it was published in 1806. Charlotte Dacre really did flip Gothic horror on its side to give us a sexually adventurous, lustful, vengeful, murderous anti-heroine.
There are caveats related to the prejudices of the time here (the subtitle The Moor will give you a hint as to one), the plotting & writing definitely could have used a steady editorial hand, & current editions should make the effort to correct typos throughout. But if you're up for a Gothic novel with a subversive bent, you might want to check this one out -- it's a sex, drugs, & rock & roll story set in the 15th century. Plus murder.
It was easy to slot characters/actions in this book into modern parallels such as Killing Eve, soap operas, trashy reality tv, the Satanic Panic, Kick Ass, Mean Girls, Sex in the City, & more, followed by a tell-all interview with Oprah where a known "bad girl" blames her evilness on her mom's lax parenting & loose morals. If ever a Gothic novel plot was made for our era of tweets & TikToks, this is it.
Which is quite a feat considering it was published in 1806. Charlotte Dacre really did flip Gothic horror on its side to give us a sexually adventurous, lustful, vengeful, murderous anti-heroine.
There are caveats related to the prejudices of the time here (the subtitle The Moor will give you a hint as to one), the plotting & writing definitely could have used a steady editorial hand, & current editions should make the effort to correct typos throughout. But if you're up for a Gothic novel with a subversive bent, you might want to check this one out -- it's a sex, drugs, & rock & roll story set in the 15th century. Plus murder.
August 12, 2025
my stomach is in knots. i feel physically ill with horror. i’ll have to update later with coherent thoughts. this was incredible.
OKAY UPDATE
okay so this was my first horror gothic read and i absolutely loved it. it’s exciting from cover to cover and filled with plot twists (albeit a little melodramatic (but i loved it all the more for it)).
i really loved victoria’s character, and i couldn’t bring myself to dislike her despite knowing that i should. i actually found her to be kinda relatable, which i think is what made the ending so horrific for me. the last scene forces you to confront your own “morals/values” through your feelings about victoria. but while the author’s note subscribes to a simplistic “good vs evil” understanding of morality, the text itself consistently undermines that duality and treats the topic with far more nuance, esp when it comes to betrayal, anger, and forgiveness. i think victoria’s character is by far the most realistic in her anger/resentment (and i’m convinced that’s on purpose).
on the question of whether this text is racist: i don’t think it is. i can definitely see where the argument comes from tho — zofloya’s eagerness (and even his ability) to enable victoria’s malevolence did make me feel put-off. but ultimately i don’t think this argument really holds primarily bc of the revelation at the end about the circumstances of the servant’s death (and also the fact that almost every character is evil, hello??). in fact, throughout and even after having finished the text, the primary feeling zofloya invokes is one of awe. not only is he the only character who holds power over victoria, but his intelligence and physical beauty is consistently praised (pre- and post-servant death) and demonstrated. we hear repeatedly how berenza is so handsome and all women swoon at the sight of him, but, to me, this alone isn’t convincing. what makes berenza so beautiful? but when it comes to zofloya, when we’re told of his beauty, we’re told about the broad stature of his shadow, the angle of his brow, the lustre of skin in the moonlight, etc. same goes for their intelligence. and a lot of zofloya’s descriptions draw attention to his race, like the colour of his skin, his features, his clothes, his voice, etc. this specific sort of appreciation, rather than having an alienating effect, this actually works to flesh out zofloya’s character and emphasize the beauty of his moorish identity (NOT his beauty in spite of his moorish identity).
anyway i hâve a lot more to say about this and also other topics in this book (female rage, sexuality, ambition and desire, power and greed, love vs lust, religion and morality, nurture vs nature, art vs nature, etc) but my review has gone on long (and is haphazard) enough so yes i loved this book 10/10. please read this so i can talk to someone about it
OKAY UPDATE
okay so this was my first horror gothic read and i absolutely loved it. it’s exciting from cover to cover and filled with plot twists (albeit a little melodramatic (but i loved it all the more for it)).
i really loved victoria’s character, and i couldn’t bring myself to dislike her despite knowing that i should. i actually found her to be kinda relatable, which i think is what made the ending so horrific for me. the last scene forces you to confront your own “morals/values” through your feelings about victoria. but while the author’s note subscribes to a simplistic “good vs evil” understanding of morality, the text itself consistently undermines that duality and treats the topic with far more nuance, esp when it comes to betrayal, anger, and forgiveness. i think victoria’s character is by far the most realistic in her anger/resentment (and i’m convinced that’s on purpose).
on the question of whether this text is racist: i don’t think it is. i can definitely see where the argument comes from tho — zofloya’s eagerness (and even his ability) to enable victoria’s malevolence did make me feel put-off. but ultimately i don’t think this argument really holds primarily bc of the revelation at the end about the circumstances of the servant’s death (and also the fact that almost every character is evil, hello??). in fact, throughout and even after having finished the text, the primary feeling zofloya invokes is one of awe. not only is he the only character who holds power over victoria, but his intelligence and physical beauty is consistently praised (pre- and post-servant death) and demonstrated. we hear repeatedly how berenza is so handsome and all women swoon at the sight of him, but, to me, this alone isn’t convincing. what makes berenza so beautiful? but when it comes to zofloya, when we’re told of his beauty, we’re told about the broad stature of his shadow, the angle of his brow, the lustre of skin in the moonlight, etc. same goes for their intelligence. and a lot of zofloya’s descriptions draw attention to his race, like the colour of his skin, his features, his clothes, his voice, etc. this specific sort of appreciation, rather than having an alienating effect, this actually works to flesh out zofloya’s character and emphasize the beauty of his moorish identity (NOT his beauty in spite of his moorish identity).
anyway i hâve a lot more to say about this and also other topics in this book (female rage, sexuality, ambition and desire, power and greed, love vs lust, religion and morality, nurture vs nature, art vs nature, etc) but my review has gone on long (and is haphazard) enough so yes i loved this book 10/10. please read this so i can talk to someone about it
December 31, 2024
The first half reminded me of Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, the second more of Matthew Lewis' The Monk.
The first half has young Victoria di Loredani deal with the loss of her home, her lover and her freedom. I found this part highly entertaining, fast-paced, and funny; there is seduction, adultery, murder and kidnapping.
Victoria is not a Radcliffean heroine, though, and I much appreciated the lack of fainting fits, tears and anxiety. Instead, Victoria is bold, ambitious and selfish.
This she takes too far in the second part, in which she becomes a multiple murderess.
Two things that dampened my initial enthusiasm for the book: one, the necessity of a Gothic romance to have extreme emotions. There is no like or dislike, there is only passionate lust and raging hate and both instantly. Nothing in between and it never abates. This made reading a little tedious in the second part of the novel.
Two, despite all her faults, I appreciated Victoria's boldness, her independent spirit and also her selfish lust (if not unusual, then at least unaccepted in women at that time). She was doing quite well for herself, but this changes once she meets Zofloya, the moorish servant of her husband´s brother. It was a pity to see such a great female villain become more and more dependent on a male villain, both regarding her actions as well as her emotions.
This was a great read and quite refreshing from the usual Gothic romance with its damsel in distress.
The first half has young Victoria di Loredani deal with the loss of her home, her lover and her freedom. I found this part highly entertaining, fast-paced, and funny; there is seduction, adultery, murder and kidnapping.
Victoria is not a Radcliffean heroine, though, and I much appreciated the lack of fainting fits, tears and anxiety. Instead, Victoria is bold, ambitious and selfish.
This she takes too far in the second part, in which she becomes a multiple murderess.
Two things that dampened my initial enthusiasm for the book: one, the necessity of a Gothic romance to have extreme emotions. There is no like or dislike, there is only passionate lust and raging hate and both instantly. Nothing in between and it never abates. This made reading a little tedious in the second part of the novel.
Two, despite all her faults, I appreciated Victoria's boldness, her independent spirit and also her selfish lust (if not unusual, then at least unaccepted in women at that time). She was doing quite well for herself, but this changes once she meets Zofloya, the moorish servant of her husband´s brother. It was a pity to see such a great female villain become more and more dependent on a male villain, both regarding her actions as well as her emotions.
This was a great read and quite refreshing from the usual Gothic romance with its damsel in distress.
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