Emily St. Aubert Timeline and Summary

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• We meet Emily in happy times as she frolics about her family's chateau. There's one creepy episode when she thinks someone's totally following her by the fishing-house, but she's otherwise as content as you can get.
• When Em's mom dies, her dad takes her on a trip around the French countryside that could also be billed as the most extreme nature walk of all time.
• Along the way, Em meets Valancourt, a pretty stranger who seems to have a little crush on her.
• St. Aubert gets some bad news about all of his investments getting lost, meaning that Em is practically penniless. Ouch.
• When St. Aubert gets super sick along the journey, Em promises her dad that she'll burn a bunch of papers for him when she gets home. Oh, and she won't peek at them. Easy-peasy, right?
• St. Aubert dies, leaving Em at a peasant's house in the woods. Great. She hangs out at a convent for a while and then makes her way back home.
• Valancourt shows up while Emily's home alone and declares his undying love for her. She loves him back, though she wants to be all proper about it.
• Em's aunt and new guardian, Madame Cheron, shows up and whisks her away to her new home in Tholouse.
• Valancourt follows her, but Madame Cheron won't let him court Em at first. She thinks he's bad news bears.
• Em gets exactly what she wants for once: Madame Cheron consents to let Valancourt court her because she thinks he's super-rich.
• Em's new uncle and Madame Cheron's new husband, Montoni, puts the kibosh on the Valancourt nonsense. He moves with Em and his new wife to Italy.
• Em's tricked into getting betrothed to Count Morano. Yuck.
• On her wedding day, Montoni moves them once again to his other house in Italy, a castle called Udolpho. Em gets no explanation.
• Udolpho is pretty much the most terrifying place ever. Em discovers a secret door in her bedroom that anyone can get through. Something tells us she won't be using the door to sneak out and party.
• Sure enough, Count Morano pops up in Em's bedroom in an attempt to kidnap her. He fails when Montoni challenges him to a duel.
• Em convinces Annette to show her a mysterious veiled picture. What's beneath the veil is totally horrifying, but Em refuses to let us in on what she sees.
• When Madame Cheron dies, Montoni tries to force Em to sign away all the properties she inherited from her late aunt. No way, no how—Em stays strong and refuses to sign.
• Em gets sent off to Tuscany for a bit when the castle is unexpectedly besieged.
• When she gets back from Tuscany, Montoni forces her to sign by making some nasty threats to her safety.
• Em thinks Valancourt is in Montoni's dungeon, but it turns out to be a stranger named Du Pont.
• Du Pont helps Em escape the castle and Montoni's clutches along with Annette and Ludovico. Nice going.
• After escaping, Em stays at the de Villefortes place for a while and buddies up to Blanche de Villeforte.
• Em shuts down Valancourt when she finds out from the Count that he's been up to no good—we're talking gambling and a stint in prison.
• Em gets the de Villefortes servant, Dorothée, to show her the dead Marchioness's bedroom. The two of them spot what they think is a ghost and freak out.
• The Count de Villeforte tells Em that Montoni is dead and she'll probably get her properties back. Score!
• Agnes, a crazy nun at the convent, makes a deathbed confession that rocks Em's world: she's the one who killed the Marchioness. Oh, and she's actually Signora Laurentini, the former owner of Udolpho. Mind. Blown.
• Agnes-turned-Signora Laurentini bequeaths her whole fortune to Em because she's a dead ringer for the Marchioness.
• Luckily, a friar who knows Emily's dad tells her she's actually the Marchioness's niece. Phew—Em didn't want to find out she had a new mom!
• Valancourt clears his name, allowing Em to finally lock him down as her hubby.
• Em's rolling in dough. She's inherited Udolpho, her aunt's place at Tholouse, and La Vallée. Nice going, Em.