The Heir of Mondolfo by Mary Shelley. Short summary

5 seconds

A prince wants to marry his son to an aristocrat and kidnaps his peasant wife and son. The prince’s son finds his wife and child. The family is reunited. He finds the strength to forgive his father only later.

1 minute

Prince Fernando Mondolfo hates his youngest son, Ludovico. One day the young man meets a peasant girl, Viola. The young ones fall in love, marry in secret, and have a son.

The Prince’s eldest heir dies suddenly. Fernando sends Ludovico to Naples, dreaming of marrying an aristocrat.

Viola and the child are taken away by the Prince´s men and imprisoned in a tower. They manage to escape and hide in a grove.

On his return home, Ludovico finds no family and blames his father for their deaths. He confesses to what he has done. The young man sets out in search of his wife and child.

He finds the tower and decides they have been thrown into the sea. In despair, Ludovico departs to wander in search of death.

In a grove, by a spring, he finds Viola and her son. Happy, they return to their hut. Some time later, Ludovico and Viola forgive the Prince and move to his castle.