Book Description
The Book of the Virgins, published here in its first English translation, is one of Gabriele D’Annunzio’s very first collections. Remarkable for its descriptive powers, it is a compelling account of self–knowledge and coming–of–age. Foreword by Tim Parks.
Recovering from a near–fatal illness, a young woman resolves to experience for herself all that life has to offer. Spurning her old saintly ways, she sets out to explore the beauty and energy in everything around her. But as she senses the first stirrings of passion, so too comes tragedy, and with it, the realization that to truly live, she must embrace life in all its brutality. Poet, dramatist, and novelist—and one of the most popular and controversial Italian writers of the 20th century—Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863–1938) represented the very height of decadence in Italy.
Publisher comments
Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach and new translations. Through these short classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of genuine rediscoveries.
Back Cover copy
A spinster lies dying of typhus, her virgin body shrivelled and corrupted by disease. The priest performs extreme unction – no hope is held out for recovery. But Giuliana does not die, and gradually her life returns: first a ravenous hunger, then a repairing of the flesh, finally a total spiritual renewal. She is left a newborn adult, sensually aware, all taste for her past chaste life gone; but this new hyper-sensitivity, coupled with a complete sexual innocence, heralds an awakening of tragic proportions.
