The Leopard (Il gattopardo)

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Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa

Archibald Colquhoun Trans.

Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi Foreword

Pantheon, New York, 2007, English; originally published in Italian (in book form), 1958

Fiction

ISBN: 9780375714795

From the Publisher. Set in the 1860s, The Leopard tells the spellbinding story of a decadent, dying Sicilian aristocracy threatened by the approaching forces of democracy and revolution. The dramatic sweep and richness of observation, the seamless intertwining of public and private worlds, and the grasp of human frailty imbue The Leopard with its particular melancholy beauty and power, and place it among the greatest historical novels of our time.

On 3 book lists

Alexander Cooper

On Alexander Cooper’s Book List

Cleto Munari

On Cleto Munari’s Book List

The richness of the Sicilian aristocratic world was fascinating to me growing up, mirroring my own ambitions, which were not based in reality but were part of a dream world. I really admired that proudness of the Sicilians who had to suffer more than one invasion and political regime. Yet, that form of resistance to innovation appears to be quite dangerous if we think about the great cancer in southern Italy: the Mafia.

Jorge Silvetti

On Jorge Silvetti’s Book List

The best historical novel (reality-based fiction) for understanding the evolution of a society.

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