Little Novels of Sicily
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Little Novels of Sicily
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See moreFirst published in 1883, this book by Verga poignantly re-creates the beautiful simplicity of Sicilian village life, painting the grim lives of fishermen and farmers with comic elements and evoking mystical pleasures of the landscape in which he was born.
Drawn from the Sicily of Giovanni Verga's childhood — at the time, the poorest place in Europe — the stories in Little Novels of Sicily capture life's inimitably ironic blend of beauty and sorrow. A loudly lamenting widower enters negotiations for a new wife even before the grave is filled; a donkey driver finds the patronage of the king a mixed blessing; and successful revolutionaries discover that liberty is of short duration.
Full of twists in perspective and lyrically described landscapes, Verga's stories record the class struggles of Risorgimento Italy, the relationship between men and the land, and the cynical yet reassuring intimacy of life in a rural community. In deceptively simple, powerfully concentrated prose, Verga shifts between affection and dry detachment, but never turns his gaze away from life as it is really lived.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781782697077
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 13 August 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Pushkin Press Classics
Contributors:
- Introduction by D.H. Lawrence
- Translated by D.H. Lawrence
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 176
About the Author
Giovanni Verga was born in Catania, Sicily, in 1840, and died in the same city in 1922. As a young man he left Sicily to work at literature and mingle with society in Florence and Milan, but eventually came back to spend his long declining years in his own place. He wrote in many genres and produced several classics of Italian literature, including the novel The House of the Medlar Tree. His short stories about Sicily are widely agreed to be his masterpieces.
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