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 ..."