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The Betrothed cover art

The Betrothed

By: Alessandro Manzoni
Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
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Summary

After the jealous tyrant Don Rodrigo foils their wedding, young Lombardian peasants Lucia and Lorenzo must separate and flee for their safety. Their difficult path to matrimony takes place against the turbulent backdrop of the Thirty Years War, where lawlessness and exploitation are at their height. Lucia takes refuge in a convent, where she is later abducted and taken on a nightmarish journey to a sinister castle, while Lorenzo goes to Milan, where he witnesses famine, riots, and plague - all evoked through meticulous description and with stunning immediacy. The Betrothed is a masterful example of historical fiction and remains one of the most famous novels in Italian literature. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.  
Public Domain (P)2019 Naxos Audiobooks
Classics Literary Fiction
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Profile Image for Liam Foley

Outstanding story disappointing translation.

This is one of the great classics of European literature. Manzoni is in the first division of 19th Century writers and The Betrothed is on any top 10 list of works. That said this particular translation is weak and shows little understanding of Catholicism, a subject which is crucial to the story. Two obvious examples are the use of 'temple' instead of 'church' as a translation of the Italian 'templo.' No one who speaks English calls a church a temple. The same goes for 'curato'. The English word, curate, which is used, is an assistant priest but in Italian the word means a senior priest, a parish priest and the assistant is a vicario.
Both these obvious mistakes aren't made in the Penman translation used by Penguin.

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16 people found this helpful