63 pages • 2 hours read
The Unraveling of Julia
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Background
Content Warning: This section contains discussion of death, graphic violence, and physical abuse.
Literary Context: Gothic Fiction Set in Italy
Scottoline follows in the tradition of gothic fiction set in Italy. The genre was first developed in the 18th century with The Castle Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole, usually considered the first work of gothic fiction. Its supernatural elements influenced many later authors, including Scottoline. Another highly influential gothic novel set in Italy is The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe. Both the castle in Udolpho and Julia’s villa are haunted, while both novels also involve co-conspirators trying to harm the female protagonists to obtain their properties. Radcliff wrote several other novels set in Italy, including The Italian (1797) and A Sicilian Romance (1790). In The Unraveling of Julia, Scottoline includes many details about Caterina Sforza, who is rumored to be related to Julia. The Bride of Sforza (1975) by Miranda Seymour focuses on the powerful Italian family that Rossi (in Scottoline’s novel) was obsessed with.
Gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe also uses Italy as his setting in works such as The Cask of Amontillado (1846). This short story focuses on the imprisonment of Fortunato, which echoes the underground cell in The Unraveling of Julia.
