A classic of Sicilian Literature, first published in 1894

Originally published London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1962.

“Verso Books has done a good deed in this timely republication of a remarkable novel. The capriciousness, the blind avarice and superstition, the arrogance and unearned license that the Uzedas embody cannot but resonate today.”
—Nation

“A skilfully crafted novel. De Roberto’s technique is so confident, the Verso Classics timing and rhythm of the narration are so controlled and constant.”
—Leonardo Sciascia, author of The Day of the Owl

“A unique combination of naturalistic lucidity over the fate of impoverished aristocracies, and a Goya-like inventiveness in extracting from social disintegration a whole gallery of grotesques and monstrosities … a superb lesson in how coarse and rancid the collapse of a ruling class actually is.”
—Franco Moretti

“Undoubtedly a classic.”
—Fredric Jameson