The Children of the Abbey
The Children of the Abbey is a novel by the Irish romantic novelist Regina Maria Roche. It first appeared in 1796, in London in 4 volumes, and related the tale of Amanda and Oscar Fitzalan, two siblings robbed of their rightful inheritance by a forged will. The book contains many standard Gothic elements in the context of a sentimental novel. It was Roche's third and best-known novel, and was a major commercial success, remaining in print for most of the 19th century. The book is referenced in a number of other works, including Jane Austen's novel Emma, Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery, and Arabella by Georgette Heyer.
History
The Children of the Abbey is a novel by the Irish romantic novelist Regina Maria Roche. It first appeared in 1796, in London in 4 volumes, and related the tale of Amanda and Oscar Fitzalan, two siblings robbed of their rightful inheritance by a forged will. The book contains many standard Gothic elements in the context of a sentimental novel.The Children of the Abbey was Roche's third novel, it was a major commercial success, remaining in print for most of the 19th century. Such was the popularity of the novel, it reached a tenth edition by 1825. Scholars have since disagreed over whether the novel can be considered as pro-Catholic or not.