Original text of the first edition unabridged and carefully revised and supplemented by numerous contemporary illustrations from early editions.Adeline a young orphan by mysterious ways comes into the care of Pierre de la Mottes an impoverished nobleman who is fleeing the long arm of the law with his family. In a secluded dilapidated abbey in the middle of a dark forest the refugees find temporary accommodation. But the calm does not last long: The Marquis de Montalt the owner of the abbey appears on the scene with his entourage. While Adeline soon suspects that a terrible crime was once committed within the walls of the abbey her supposed benefactor is becoming involved in the perfidious plans of the cruel Marquis ...