The Betrothed, Alessandro Manzoni
The Betrothed, Alessandro Manzoni
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The Betrothed

Author: Alessandro Manzoni, Michael F. Moore

Narrator: Ari Fliakos, Susan Vinciotti Bonito

Unabridged: 22 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/13/2022


Synopsis

“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.

About The Author

Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873) is best known for his novel The Betrothed, which ranks among the masterpieces of world literature. It was first published in 1827 and then in 1842 in a revised edition. Manzoni was also a poet, prolific essayist, and playwright. In his life and in his writing, he was committed to the cause of Italian independence and the forging of a modern Italian identity, culture, and language.Michael F. Moore’s published translations range from twentieth-century classics—Agostino by Alberto Moravia and The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi—to contemporary novels. Moore is the former chair of the PEN/Heim Translation Fund and has a PhD in Italian from New York University. For many years he was also an interpreter at the United Nations and a full-time staff member of the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rick on November 06, 2020

Un altro classico difficile, spesso studiato al liceo italiano. Come molti libri “obbligatori,” la storia è complicata, è il linguaggio molto antiquato. Mi dispiace se la storia fosse stata rovinata perché studiata troppo presto. Quando ero giovane, almeno, non mi sarebbe piaciuto questo romanzo. Ma......more

Goodreads review by Bill on December 17, 2023

Manzoni's historical novel The Betrothed--although not much read today in the English-speaking world--is considered by many Italians to be the greatest novel written in their language. It is indeed a great novel. Manzoni, building on the simple romantic story of an engaged couple whose scheduled wed......more

Goodreads review by Dagio_maya on October 21, 2019

Che bella sensazione: rileggere “I promessi sposi” senza l’angoscia dell’interrogazione il giorno dopo o del tema sulla tormentata notte dell’Innominato? Questa sì che è libertà del leggere. Non che all'epoca non mi sia piaciuto o l’abbia trovato difficile da digerire, anzi seguivo la lettura in class......more

Goodreads review by Baba Yaga Reads on March 31, 2020

Io al liceo: questa storia su due giovani che non possono sposarsi a causa della distanza e di un'epidemia di peste è anacronistica e antiquata. Io oggi, costretta a cancellare il mio matrimonio a causa del coronavirus: ................more

Goodreads review by Lorenzo on August 23, 2007

This novel is hated by many generations of Italians. Poor Alessandro Manzoni! He's not to blame for the bad reputation of his book. The moronic Italian educational system is the only guilt of the assassination of I Promessi Sposi in most of its readers. Just consider this: in Italy we study this nove......more


Quotes

“An important new translation . . . It feels strange to have had a bona fide canonical classic hiding in plain sight for all these years. But with [Michael F.] Moore’s vigorous and companionable translation, the book is now here for everyone to see. . . . Now the English-speaking world can discover what the fuss is all about.”—The Wall Street Journal

The Betrothed emerges in the new translation as a work that anyone who cares about nineteenth-century fiction should want to read. It has the great events—war, famine, plague—and the record of their impact on humble people. It has the sentimentality: demure maidens and brave lads and black-hearted villains. It has passages of lyrical description and passages where the specificity of detail verges on the sociological. It has the prolixity, annoying to some, comforting to others. In other words, it is an exemplary historical novel.”The New Yorker

“Michael F. Moore’s new version strikes me as remarkable, extraordinarily well pitched, finding the right levels of colloquialism and eloquence. Moore preserves the heteroglossia of the novel, its rich impasto of spoken and written styles whose incompatibility is one of its deep subjects. And he manages to catch Manzoni’s narrative voice, which is not easy to characterize.”—Peter Brooks, The New York Review of Books

“This is not just a book; it offers consolation to the whole of humanity.”—Giuseppe Verdi