Vae victis! Romanzo

Vivanti, Annie, 1866-1942Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 360K words
Chapters: 37

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.Vae victis! Romanzo by Annie VivantiAuthor: Vivanti, Annie, 1866-1942,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Dec 9, 2011

Editor's review

Vae victis! is a novel by the Italian writer Annie Vivanti, its title taken from the Gauls' leader Brennus's famous words "Woe to the vanquished," suggesting the work may revolve around themes of war, defeat, and fate. Active from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, Vivanti wrote with emotional intensity and dramatic flair, and this Italian-language original offers Chinese readers a chance to encounter a writer of Italian literature who has been relatively little translated. As a free eBook from Project Gutenberg, it is easily accessible and suited to readers willing to read in the original foreign language. Reading it requires some grounding in Italian, or the help of translation tools and bilingual comparison. Its length and narrative pace suit reading in stages, and it can serve as supplementary reading for understanding modern Italian fiction and broadening one's view of European literature. Since the materials provide no specific plot or translation information, readers would do well to browse the opening and chapter structure first, then decide whether to read closely or selectively.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with Italian reading ability who want to broaden their reading in Italian literature
Literature enthusiasts studying European women writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Readers who enjoy historical novels themed on war and the fate of defeat
Language learners who want to use free public-domain eBooks for extensive reading in a foreign language

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Italian whatsoever and no辅助 tools who only want a Chinese translation
Beginning readers who prefer detailed plot summaries and need introductions and annotations
Academic readers seeking biographical studies of the author or critical commentary on her work

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters and table of contents first to grasp the narrative perspective and historical background, then draw up a chapter-by-chapter reading plan.
Those with limited Italian can use bilingual comparison or translation tools, and after each chapter retell the key points in their own words.
While reading, note the hint in the title "Woe to the vanquished," and record passages related to war, fate, and the characters' choices.
Read it alongside Italian or French realist novels of the same period to broaden your grasp of the European literary context.

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

What level of language proficiency is needed to read this book?

The original is in Italian; those with intermediate or higher Italian reading ability can read it directly. Beginners are advised to use bilingual comparison or translation tools and to slow their pace through the chapters, focusing first on understanding the characters and the main narrative line.

What does the title "Vae victis!" mean?

This is Latin, meaning "Woe to the vanquished," said to be the words of the Gallic leader Brennus when he demanded ransom from the Romans. Used as a title, it usually hints that the work concerns the situation and fate of the defeated; how this unfolds in the novel requires reading the original to appreciate.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to Italian literature?

It is better suited to readers who already have some experience reading foreign-language texts and are willing to look up background materials on their own. If you have never encountered Italian literature, it is advisable to start with works that have Chinese translations and detailed introductions, then return to this original-language eBook for further reading.

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About the author

Vivanti, Annie, 1866-1942 Author

Annie Vivanti (Vivanti, Annie, 1866-1942) was an Italian writer; the library holds eleven of her works, mostly classified under inspirational growth. Her output centres on novels, with representative titles including ...Sorella di Messalina, I divoratori, Vae victis!, Gioia! and Naja tripudians, as well as the play Le bocche inutili and the travel account A Journey to Crete, Costantinople, Naples and Florence. Judging from these titles and genres, her writing engages with social and family ethics, individual destiny and emotional conflict, and she also tried her hand at drama and travel sketches. Public information is limited: biographical details, nationality and exact dates are not documented in the library, so readers may approach her place and influence in Italian literature through the themes and narrative style of these works.