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The Betrothed (Paperback)

by Alessandro Manzoni (Author), David Forgacs (Editor), Matthew Reynolds (Editor), Allessandro Manzoni (Author) "ONE arm of Lake Como turns off to the south between two unbroken chains of mountains, which cut it up into a series of bays..." (more)
Key Phrases: poor innocent girl, thousand scudi, Don Abbondio, Don Rodrigo, Don Ferrante (more...)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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.

Language Notes
Text: English, Italian (translation) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Paperback: 705 pages
Publisher: J.M. Dent & Sons (October 1, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0460879197
ISBN-13: 978-0460879194
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,611,006 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
"ONE arm of Lake Como turns off to the south between two unbroken chains of mountains, which cut it up into a series of bays and inlets as the hills advance into the water and retreat again, until it quite suddenly grows much narrower and takes on the appea" Read the first page

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poor innocent girl, thousand scudi

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Don Abbondio, Don Rodrigo, Don Ferrante, Donna Prassede, Federigo Borromeo, Father Superior, Don Gonzalo, Count Attilio, East Gate, Grand Chancellor, Lorenzo Tramaglino, Duke of Savoy, Father Felice, Antonio Ferrer, Mother of God, Father Bonaventura, Brother Cristoforo, Reverend Mother, Cardinal Richelieu, Duke of Nevers, King Philip, Antonio Rivolta, Bakery of the Crutches, Brother Fazio, Cardinal Archbishop

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 1 book:

The Prince and The Discourses by Niccolo Machiavelli on page 505

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	92% buy the item featured on this page: The Betrothed 4.6 out of 5 stars (26)
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	1% buy Love and Death in Renaissance Italy 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) $27.50

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Customer Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very greatest historical novels ever written, February 6, 2003

By	Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Allesandro Manzoni's THE BETROTHED is rightfully considered one of the great novels in Italian history, if not the greatest. It is also one of the greatest historical novels ever written. Manzoni magnificently blends together a score of memorable characters with a string of vividly rendered historical events to provide an epic story of frustrated lovers in Italy during the Thirty Years Wars in the early 17th century when the state of Milan was occupied by the Spanish Habsburgs. The result is a great story placed against the background of a turbulent period in Italian history. The choice of that period of time is fascinating in itself. Instead of dealing with one of the more glorious periods of Italian history, such as the 15th or 16th centuries, Manzoni chose the relatively undistinguished 17th, during a time when much of Italy suffered under foreign rule, while many of the other city states were in a period of decline.

Few novels that I know deal with historical topics as magnificently as this one. One has to go to a writer like Tolstoy to find scenes as memorable as the tremendous scene in the Lazaretto in which Fra Cristoforo admonishes Renzo for his desire for revenge, with thousands of people dying of the plague surrounding them. Nearly as powerful is Manzoni's masterful depiction of the bread riots in Milan or the way he describes the progress of the German army in its passage through the region on its way to Mantua. Although one hardly reads the novel for the history lessons it provides, one learns an unusually large amount.

I am a bit perplexed as the criticism that the novel contains too much in the way of Christian redemption in the latter part of the novel. Of course it does. As much as an historical novel, THE BETROTHED is a religious novel, in which Manzoni in his own way tries to justify the ways of God to men. If one compares the novel to the historical works of someone like Hugo or other French historical novelists, one will be struck by the sharp divergence in the depiction of the Church and the clergy. In France, an anti-clericalism characterizes many or most of the novels. Manzoni is much more balanced. Some of his religious figures, such as the Nun of Moanza or the Lecco parish priest, are either ridiculous or treacherous, but by and large the great heroes in his book are either monks (Fra Cristoforo), clerics (the Cardinal), or converts (the Unnamed). The theme of the novel is a religious one: "All things work together for good for those that love God." Given the central theme of the novel, the religious themes are not an unwanted accretion, added on arbitrarily by an author otherwise summoning up a tremendous yarn, but integral to the novel as a whole. To dampen or eliminate the religious themes would have been to make it into another novel entirely.

Most of all, THE BETROTHED is just a flat out great story. Separated lovers, devious villains, mysterious figures: who wouldn't fall for all this? Manzoni is a masterful storyteller, and frequently one is left with a powerful impatience to know what is going to happen next. Anyone looking for a great novel could hardly hope to do better than this great masterpiece.

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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Historical Fiction, August 4, 1999

By	"rayniro" (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Twenty years ago I went through a graduate program in Comparative Literature and read literally thousands of novels, plays, poems, etc. Of all that I read then, The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi) is one of the few works that stand out. Scott, Hugo, and other novelists were familiar, but Manzoni was a new name to me then. He has become a favorite companion in the ensuing years. I am currently reading this novel for the 7th or 8th time (lost count). Written with compassion and humor, Manzoni offers an enthralling story of a peasant couple swept up in the political, social and religious turmoil of early 17th century Italy. There are many subplots involving characters of every rank and station, all vividly portrayed. What brings me back to this novel repeatedly are: 1) the author's masterful handling of plot--everything fits and flows (super)naturally; and 2) his ability to capture the beauty, wonder and horror of life in eloquent and moving prose. It is a mystery why this novel is not better known in the U.S.

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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply great, August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This is the most famous book in Italian literature. Most students hate it, but their opinion just doesn't count because for them it is but brutal forced reading. Manzoni's "The Betrothed" can be enjoyed on various levels. In the first place, it is packed with action: there's the good guy, the imperiled damsel, the arch-villain, the saintly friar and various comic characters like the cowardly priest and his spinster-servant. The plot is tipically Nineteenth Century: the loving couple can't get married because the arch-villain gets in their way and starts all the tribulations. On the other hand, the whole plot can be seen as a religious parable (and that is why students hate this book: they are forced to see the whole matter from this point of view ONLY.) on Providence. Thirdly, the book can be seen as an authoritative historical text about the Sixteenth Century. Unlike his colleague Walter Scott, whose Middle Ages look like a Hollywood movie starring Liz Taylor, Manzoni wrote "The Betrothed" after a serious hystorical reserach: almost every episode is historically based and he made use of Sixteenth-century chronicles and laws as a basis for his story's context. On top of this, the characters aren't mere literary creations. They are alive and pop out of every page as living creatures with all their humanity. Everything in them denounces Manzoni as a keen observer of the human heart. I highly recommend this book. Buy it and enjoy it!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Christian romanticism response to Voltaire's "Candide"
Unanimously considered the greatest modern novel in Italian literature, "I Promessi Sposi" demonstrates
a truly remarkable breadth of themes: literary theory and... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Cristiano Nisoli

5.0 out of 5 stars Christian Romanticism response to Voltaire's "Candide"
Unanimously considered the greatest modern novel in Italian literature, "I Promessi Sposi" demonstrates
a truly remarkable breadth of themes: literary theory and... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Cristiano Nisoli

5.0 out of 5 stars The Past, Beautifully Recreated
I have had a few friends planning trips to Italy ask me for reading suggestions. "I Promessi Sposi" (The Betrothed) is always at the top of the list. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Bill McGann

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book. Incredible in it's depth.
One of literature's masterpieces. Manzoni is considered a national hero in Italy for good reason. The SAT's in Italy require a written essay on this book as well as Dante's... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Owen Dimock

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem.
I have read quite a lot of "classic" literature in my time, purely for enjoyment. I have to say this is one of the very finest (I would put it in my top 5) works of great... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Nicholas Warren

5.0 out of 5 stars Neglected classic
What made me read this, outside of Italy, quite obscure book? Well, Umberto Eco writes highly of it in his On Literature (Harcourt, 2004). Read more

Published 21 months ago by isala

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the Dozen Greatest Novels of All Time

Manzoni is the preeminent figure of Italian fiction - akin to Cervantes in Spain, Twain in the USA and Hugo in France. Read more

Published on January 30, 2006 by JAD

4.0 out of 5 stars The Betrothed: a great story and great history
Don't let the fact that The Betrothed has been labeled a classic, nor its length, stop you from picking it up. Read more

Published on January 20, 2006 by Stephen Muratore

5.0 out of 5 stars If you haven't read it, do
The best type of long novel -- humane and engrossing -- it ends too soon. It's surprising how few people I meet have read this. It deserves better. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Published on October 30, 2005 by sjtout

5.0 out of 5 stars Great servoce
I received the book in timely fashion, in good condition. Thank you!

Published on September 26, 2005 by Christine

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