The Betrothed
Alessandro Manzoni
Renzo and Lucy are betrothed; but Don Roderick, a local
baron, threatens the vicar to prevent their matrimony.
Father Christopher, the saintly Capuchin friar at a nearby
convent, intervenes to assist them; but before long, the
couple is engulfed in events that are far above their heads.
Famine; food riots; flight; duplicity; kidnapping;
repentence; redemption; plague; and, above all, Providence.
All are major players in this drama of northern Italy in the
midst of the troubles and chaos of the Thirty Years' War.
More than a drama of events, however, this is a drama of
characters; we meet saints and sinners, repentant
and unrepentant. No cardboard cutouts, these characters are
complex and realistic, with motivations and outcomes to
match. This is a masterpiece of the medium, well worth a
close and detailed read. 283 pp., English.
HTML Purchase in Print
HTML PDF (Free)
HTML HTML (Free)