This novel has all the elements wanted for a Gothic Romance, including old castles, ghosts, catacombs under old abbeys, and the like. But this book has a much more important feel to it than the other two Gothic Romances I recently read (
The Mysteries of Udolpho and
The Castle of Otranto). That's because it tackles such weighty subjects as the heavy hand of religion and premarital sex. A century later,
Tess of the d'Urbervilles would show the effects of both religion and society on that subject. But to see it discussed frankly in an 18th century novel surprised me. In fact, the narrative outlook on it seemed quite modern, at least for certain characters.
There are multiple intertwined storylines, each involving a young woman and the men who love her (or lust after her). The title refers to the great foe of the story. But to say he's only a foe demeans the wonderful character study by Matthew Lewis. Here is a man who believes himself safe from the sins of the world, but is then exposed to sins and soon develops other ideas. All the other characters are classic stereotypes that could be pulled from any major novel of the day, and they represent the contemporary thoughts and actions of heroes and servants. That's not to say they're poorly drawn. On the contrary, each character is a unique piece of work, though some are still a bit cliched.
I thought I was finished with this review, but I wanted to revisit it for the sake of another point of contention. As you may know from my other reviews of classic works, I take particular objection to the portrayal of and condemnation of so called "fallen women" - meaning the views of society as portrayed in literature. If a woman has premarital sex with someone other than her future husband, she usually comes to a bad end. We see this in several examples including Bleak House and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, and Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.