The Innocent

D‘Annunzio, Gabriele, 1863-1938Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.1

Word count: 490K words
Chapters: 49

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.L'Innocente by Gabriele D'AnnunzioAuthor: D'Annunzio, Gabriele, 1863-1938,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Sep 16, 2007

Editor's review

L'Innocente is a novel by the Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio, published in 1892. The text is in the original Italian and is a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg. D'Annunzio was a leading figure of Italian aestheticism and decadentism, and this work continues his intense writing on desire, guilt, and aristocratic psychology: the narrator Tullio moves between his marriage and his mistress, eventually bringing his illegitimate child into the family, with tragic results. The novel's appeal lies not in a twisting plot but in its first-person confessional psychological analysis and ornate, finely wrought style, giving readers direct access to D'Annunzio's sensory description and moral ambiguity. It suits readers interested in Italian literature, aestheticism, or late nineteenth-century European fiction, and can also serve as a text for studying D'Annunzio's narrative style. Note that this is the original Italian text, without Chinese translation or notes; readers without Italian will need a dictionary or a translation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying Italian literature, aestheticism, and the decadent movement
Readers interested in late nineteenth-century European psychological fiction and first-person narrative
Learners with Italian reading ability who want to read D'Annunzio in the original
Literature lovers interested in themes of desire and moral conflict

Not a good fit for

General readers with no Italian and no translation at hand
Readers who prefer tightly plotted stories with clear moral positions
Readers uncomfortable with aestheticist ornate style and moral ambiguity

Reading tips

Learn about D'Annunzio's life and the aestheticist background before starting, to better grasp the narrator's self-justifying tone.
While reading, stay alert to the reliability of the first-person narration and treat Tullio's confession as something to be examined, not as the author's final judgment.
If Italian is difficult, read alongside a Chinese or English translation, focusing on the rhetoric and rhythm of the original.
After finishing, revisit the opening and ending in light of each other and trace the lines of the narrator's psychological change.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in the original Italian?

Yes. This Project Gutenberg edition is the original Italian text, with no Chinese translation or notes. Readers without Italian should read alongside a translation, or build some language foundation before attempting the original.

What is D'Annunzio's novel mainly about?

The novel is narrated in the first person and centers on Tullio's emotional entanglement between his wife and his mistress, and the tragedy that follows when his illegitimate child enters the family. Its focus is psychological confession and aestheticist sensory description rather than a twisting plot.

Do I need to know the author before reading?

Not strictly, but knowing D'Annunzio's background as a representative of Italian aestheticism and decadentism helps in understanding the novel's ornate style, its ambiguous moral stance, and the narrator's self-justifying tone.

Comments

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About the author

D‘Annunzio, Gabriele, 1863-1938 Author

Gabriele D‘Annunzio (1863–1938) was an Italian writer. Thirteen of his works are held in this collection, including The Child of Pleasure, Le Novelle della Pescara, L‘Innocente, La Gioconda, Cabiria: Visione storica del terzo secolo A. C., Le vergini delle rocce, San Pantaleone and Forse che sì forse che no. Public information is limited, but these works show that his writing spans novels, short stories and drama, often dealing with desire, guilt, aristocratic life and historical imagination. His style is known for sensuous description and elaborate rhetoric, with aesthetic and decadent overtones. His works had a certain influence on early twentieth-century Italian literature and popular culture.