Physical description

The Betrothed Lovers
Author: Alessandro Manzoni
Publisher: Ward Lock & Co
Date: 1889
Further Information: Edited by G.T.Bettany

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine cover with typed text PAT 853 MAN
Pastedown front endpaper has a sticker from Warrnambool Public Library covered by a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service.

Summary

The subject novel is regarded as a Victorian literary artifact of a masterpiece of European literature. The Betrothed Lovers is the English translation of I Promessi Sposi (originally published in 1827), widely considered the most famous and influential Italian novel ever written.
Set in northern Italy in 1628 during the oppressive era of Spanish rule, the story follows two young silk weavers, Renzo and Lucia, who are deeply in love and wish to marry. Their plans are cruelly shattered by a tyrannical local baron, Don Rodrigo, who wants Lucia for himself and forces the couple to flee. The epic narrative follows their separate, perilous journeys through a landscape torn apart by war, political corruption, famine, and a devastating outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in Milan.
This work is renowned for its deep psychological realism, social critique, and profound exploration of religious faith and divine providence.