The quintessential Italian novel tells the story of the author's great-grandfather, Don Fabrizio, Prince of Lampedusa. The sheltered lives of the Italian aristocracy are starkly juxtaposed against Italian unification and political reform. The world of luxury Lampedusa creates is beautiful and rich, but fragile, and the impending doom of the Italian nobility lurks at the back of every sentence. One of the most important of modern Italian novels, this book is a rare window into the psyche of the Italian people.
