The romance of the forest
(Book)

Originally published: 1998.

Includes bibliographical references.

Set in Roman Catholic Europe, this novel follows the fate of its heroine Adeline, who is placed under the protection of a family fleeing Paris for debt. They take refuge in a ruined abbey in south-eastern France, where relics of the past--a skeleton, a manuscript, and a rusty dagger--are discovered in concealed rooms. Adeline finds herself at the mercy of the abbey's proprietor, a Marquis whose attentions finally force her to contemplate escape to distant regions. --From publisher's description.