“The first English translation in more than fifty years of Alessandro Manzoni’s masterpiece, a work of foundational Italian literature on par with the Divine Comedy and the Decameron.”—The Wall Street Journal
 
“An exemplary historical novel” (The New Yorker) from the father of modern Italian literature, The Betrothed receives its first new English-language translation in fifty years, hailed as “a landmark literary occasion” by Jhumpa Lahiri.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker

The Betrothed is a cornerstone of Italian culture, language, and literature. Published in its final form in 1842, The Betrothed has inspired generations of Italian readers and writers. Giuseppe Verdi composed his majestic Requiem Mass in honor of Manzoni. Italo Calvino called the novel “a classic that has never ceased shaping reality in Italy” while Umberto Eco praised its author as a “most subtle critic and analyst of languages.” The Betrothed has been celebrated by Primo Levi and Natalia Ginzburg, and is one of Pope Francis’s favorite books. But, until now, it has remained relatively unknown to English readers.

In the fall of 1628, two young lovers are forced to flee their village on the shores of Lake Como after a powerful lord prevents their marriage, plunging them into the maelstrom of history. Manzoni draws on actual people and events to create an unforgettable fresco of Italian life and society. In this greatest of historical novels, he takes the reader on a journey through the Spanish occupation of Milan, the ravages of war, class tensions, social injustice, religious faith, and a plague that devastates northern Italy. But within Manzoni’s epic tale, readers will also hear powerful echoes of our own day.

Michael F. Moore’s dynamic new translation of The Betrothed brings to life Manzoni’s timeless literary masterpiece.

"The Betrothed is an inextricable thread in the fabric of Italian culture, one of the most influential works in the Italian literary canon, and required reading in Italian schools. Published in 1827 but set two hundred years earlier, it is considered the first iteration of the historical novel; Edgar Allen Poe declared it "a work which promises to be the commencement of a new style in novel-writing" in 1835. But, until now, it has remained relatively unknown to U.S. readers. The novel is the story of two young lovers, forced to flee their village after a dangerous and powerful man threatens their marriage and their lives. But Manzoni draws on historical events to weave a much wider tapestry: He brings to vivid life Spanish occupation during the Thirty Years' War, the bubonic plague, famine, politics, religion, poverty, class tensions, and a colorful cast of characters, all of which provide an unforgettable portrait of Italian life and society. But within Manzoni's epic tale of seventeenth-century Italy, readers will spot powerful echoes of our modern day: the consequences of government negligence, entrenched divisions of wealth and privilege, a country gripped by panic as an unststoppable illness spreads"--