One cannot read The Betrothed as though faith is merely the backdrop of the seventeenth-century. “Manzoni’s conversion marks a turning point in his thinking and his writing,” Moore observes. Moore does not merely relate this anecdote as an interesting episode in Manzoni’s life, but rather as the explanation behind the spiritual fervor of The Betrothed. She discovered him on the steps of the church, and the two became Catholics together. Separated from his wife, Manzoni found refuge in a church where he vowed to convert if the Lord brought her to him again. In 1810 in Paris, Manzoni and his wife were celebrating the marriage of Napoleon to Marie-Louise “when firecrackers went off, creating pandemonium” and causing crowds to panic and disperse. Moore explains how this writer, having absorbed the philosophy and art of Romanticism, then turned to the Catholic faith at an unexpected moment in his life. Not knowing much about Manzoni, I was delighted to hear of his powerful conversion story in the introduction.

Moore finally gives English readers access to one of the most beautiful novels in the world. I read a few chapters before abandoning it.” However, this new translation by Michael F. Of a previous version, Lahiri writes, “I found the translation underwhelming and nearly as impenetrable. Jhumpa Lahiri laments likewise in her preface to this edition. While many mentors and friends had recommended this novel to me over the years, I could never get into it, in large part because of the inaccessible translations that preceded this one. Moore required a decade of work, not to mention an additional revision needed in light of the passages about the Great Plague of Milan (1629-1631) sounding so relevant to the recent 2020 epidemic. Only a masterpiece deserves such perseverance, and Alessandro Manzoni’s 1827 Italian novel The Betrothed ranks among the greatest classics, to be shelved alongside Les Miserables, War and Peace, and Moby Dick. Imagine the dedication needed to translate such an epic. To read a nearly 700-page novel is a commitment.

The betrothed 2022 by michael f moore