Set in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed tells the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, they are then cruelly separated, and must face many dangers including plague, famine and imprisonment, and confront a variety of strange characters - the mysterious Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo and the sinister 'Unnamed' - in their struggle to be reunited. A vigorous portrayal of enduring passion, The Betrothed's exploration of love, power and faith presents a whirling panorama of seventeenth-century Italian life and is one of the greatest European historical novels. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi (Penguin Classics)

Literature & Fiction

MANZONI, Alessandro

United States

Penguin Classics

'I pity this house; the curse of God is hanging over it' Two lovers must face tyrants, war, riots, plague and famine as they struggle to be together, in this teeming panorama of seventeenth-century Italian life - the original historical novel. A new series of twenty distinctive, unforgettable Penguin Classics in a beautiful new design and pocket-sized format, with coloured jackets echoing Penguin's original covers.

The Betrothed (Pocket Penguins)

Classics

Penguin Classic

Italy’s greatest novel and a masterpiece of world literature, The Betrothed chronicles the unforgettable romance of Renzo and Lucia, who endure tyranny, war, famine, and plague to be together. Published in 1827 but set two centuries earlier, against the tumultuous backdrop of seventeenth-century Lombardy during the Thirty Years’ War, The Betrothed is the story of two peasant lovers who want nothing more than to marry. Their region of northern Italy is under Spanish occupation, and when the vicious Spaniard Don Rodrigo blocks their union in an attempt to take Lucia for himself, the couple must struggle to persevere against his plots—which include false charges against Renzo and the kidnapping of Lucia by a robber baron called the Unnamed—while beset by the hazards of war, bread riots, and a terrifying outbreak of bubonic plague. First and foremost a love story, the novel also weaves issues of faith, justice, power, and truth into a sweeping epic in the tradition of Ivanhoe, Les Misérables, and War and Peace. Groundbreakingly populist in its day and hugely influential to succeeding generations, Alessandro Manzoni’s masterwork has long been considered one of Italy’s national treasures. Translated by Archibald Colquhoun

The Betrothed: Introduction by Jonathan Keates (Everyman's Library Classics Series)

British & Irish

Everyman"s Library

Manzoni was an Italian poet an novelist whose best-known work "The Betrothed" was first published in the original Italian between 1825-27.  The novel is ranked among the masterpieces of world literature and is reprinted here from an English translation published in 1834.

The Betrothed

J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd.

But there is another point of view under which we must consider novels, or rather the works so called, but which bear, to those which morals and good taste reprobate, no other resemblance than the name. These are, it is true, unhappily few in number, and therefore have not been classed by themselves, but have been comprehended in the common appellation, and included in the general proscription; like an honest man, who, bearing the same name as a rogue, partakes with him the odium of his reputation. But this is an injustice for which we are disposed to claim reparation. Every work of imagination, in which the author causes ideal personages to speak, think, and act, according to his pleasure, has been stigmatised as a Novel. But, if we allow this rigorous definition, the apologue, so dear to the moralist, is a Novel, and deserving of proscription.

Contemporary

The Betrothed (Everyman's Library)

Tuttle+publishing

Set in Lombardy in the years 1628-30, The Betrothed tells the dramatic tale of two young lovers in a time of war, famine, and plague. Following them through exile and suffering, it displays great richness of characterization and a profound insight into the workings of history and the politics of the time. First published in 1827 as I promessi sposi, The Betrothed is the first modern Italian novel. Alessandro Manzoni was born in Milan to a noble family in 1785; although he was also a poet, he remains best known for The Betrothed. He died in 1873. David Forgacs is a Lecturer in Italian at Cambridge University; he is the author of Rethinking Italian Fascism and A Gramsci Reader. Matthew Reynolds is a Research Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Betrothed

E.P.Dutton

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

Genre Fiction

BiblioLife

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

I Promessi Sposi

History

BiblioBazaar

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Books by MANZONI, Alessandro

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The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi (Penguin Classics)

The Betrothed (Pocket Penguins)

The Betrothed: Introduction by Jonathan Keates (Everyman's Library Classics Series)

The Betrothed

The Betrothed

The Betrothed (Everyman's Library)

The Betrothed

Betrothed

The Betrothed

I Promessi Sposi