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The Leopard: Revised and with new material (Vintage Classics) by [Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa, Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, Archibald Colquhoun]

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Archibald Colquhoun

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

The Leopard: Revised and with new material (Vintage Classics) Revised Edition, Kindle Edition

by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa (Author), Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi (Foreword), Archibald Colquhoun (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

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The Leopard is a modern classic which tells the spellbinding story of a decadent, dying Sicilian aristocracy threatened by the approaching forces of democracy and revolution.

'There is a great feeling of opulence, decay, love and death about it' Rick Stein

In the spring of 1860, Fabrizio, the charismatic Prince of Salina, still rules over thousands of acres and hundreds of people, including his own numerous family, in mingled splendour and squalor. Then comes Garibaldi's landing in Sicily and the Prince must decide whether to resist the forces of change or come to terms with them.

'Every once in a while, like certain golden moments of happiness, infinitely memorable, one stumbles on a book or a writer, and the impact is like an indelible mark. Lampedusa's The Leopard, his only novel, and a masterpiece, is such a work' Independent

INCLUDES RECENTLY DISCOVERED NEW MATERIAL

ISBN-13

978-0099512158
Edition

Revised
Publisher

Vintage Digital
Publication date

7 September 2010
Language

English
File size

4796 KB
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Book Description

This is the new, revised edition which includes recently discovered new material including letters and diary entries by the author and two additional sections of the novel. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

Introduction by David Gilmour; Translation by Archibald Colquhoun --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0041RRH6S
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage Digital; Revised edition (7 September 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4796 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1784874981

Best Sellers Rank: 53,474 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 613 in Fiction Classics
- 1,174 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- 1,488 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

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Archibald Colquhoun
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Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
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John Julius Norwich
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Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
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David Gilmour
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Steven Price
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Jamie Mackay
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Joseph Roth
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Customer reviews

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3 star		12%
2 star		4%
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Alison Ritchie

Old Sicily around 1850

Reviewed in Australia on 29 December 2020

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A wonderful book about the end of an aristocratic family as Sicily became part of Italy.
So well written (even in translation), it is a pleasure to read.

One person found this helpful

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Max Rawnsley

Legendary?

Reviewed in Australia on 18 September 2021

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Very disappointed. Had numerous recommendations but not for me.

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keith wallace

A masterpiece

Reviewed in Australia on 21 January 2016

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Re-reading this book after 50 years I believe that it is a truly great novel. It is a vivid and poetic evocation of mid-19th century Sicilian society as the aristocratic families are caught up in the Risorgimento. The story is so cleverly and engagingly told that I could not put the book down before the finish. I feel that I have lived through this period of Italian history and that I now have a better understanding of Sicily. A must read for anyone contemplating a visit to the Mezzogiorno.

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firewriter

Quick delivery

Reviewed in Australia on 29 June 2021

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I love this book - it has such vivid descriptions etc.

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JGO

A disappointing read

Reviewed in Australia on 14 July 2020

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The story was slow

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spinmagic

Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 19 October 2015

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So essential as a big story to read.

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WILLIAM MORE

The Leopard again

Reviewed in Australia on 13 March 2015

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After readings separated by more than thirty years the Leopard hasn't really changed his spots: enigmatic, admirable and annoying. The nastiness of the future projected seems again balanced by the perversions of the past, or so it remains and leavened only by some unexpected present relief from gloom. Sympathy for the Leopard , as before.

One person found this helpful

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Elizabeth Dokulil

Beautiful story of crumbling aristocracy

Reviewed in Australia on 1 October 2020

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No dislike at ll

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FictionFan

Aristocratic decay...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2020

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It is 1860, and Fabrizio, Prince of Salina in Sicily, is already aware of the forces of modernity that are bringing newly rich men to prominence while the aristocracy struggles to maintain its ascendancy. Now Garibaldi is on the march, about to invade Sicily as part of his drive to unite all of Italy under one king. The old guard view this with anxiety, unsure of how it will affect them. Some of the younger Sicilians, though, are fired with enthusiasm for Garibaldi and his “revolution”. Fabrizio is jaded and cynical – his strong sense of history tells him that many invaders have arrived in Sicily over the centuries, and that after a period of upheaval everything reverts to how it has always been, though perhaps with a change of personae in the ruling class. His main hope is to come through with as little change to his leisured life of luxury as possible.

This was a real mix for me. There were long, long stretches that bored me rigid with their lingering descriptions of the sumptuous lives and possessions of the aristocrats, and the central romance between Fabrizio’s young swashbuckling pro-Garibaldi nephew, Tancredi, and the beautiful if low-born Angelica is signally unromantic despite (or perhaps because of) the endless scenes of them breathlessly teasing each other and barely controlling their mutual lust.

On the other hand, it provides tremendous insight into the Sicilian mindset and the sharp divides in society, with the aristocracy living rather pointless lives of luxurious ease while the rest of the populace exist in abject poverty, not just in material terms but also poverty of education, opportunity and spirit. We see the stranglehold of the Catholic Church, as so often helping to keep the common people down in order to please their generous patrons amongst the rich. And Lampedusa shows the rise of the new type of men, their money coming from trade and industry rather than land, rougher and less cultured, but also less effete, with the drive to perhaps effect real change for the first time in centuries. And yet we see these new men ambitious to marry their children to the children of the old aristocracy, effectively buying their way into the existing ruling class, and we wonder if Fabrizio’s cynicism is right, that gradually the new men will become indistinguishable from the class they are replacing.

While the bulk of the book covers the two year period before, during and immediately after Garibaldi’s invasion, there are two additional sections: the first set twenty years later in 1883 when we find out how Fabrizio’s life played out after the revolution; and the second set later still, in 1910, when we meet again with some of his children and are shown how the aristocratic class has continued to fade, their once glittering homes now looking tawdry and tarnished, and their lives an anachronism in their own time.

I enjoyed both of these sections considerably more than the much longer main section, where the book committed one of my personal pet hates of staying with characters who remain neutral and uninvolved while all the action is going on elsewhere, off the page. We never meet Garibaldi, we don’t get taken into the revolution. We spend all our time in the splendid drawing rooms of the rich, watching them play the game of courtship, heavily spiced with Fabrizio’s musings on the decline of his fortunes. This is simply a matter of taste, though – as I’ve said many times, I am always more interested in the political than the domestic sphere. Of course, the whole book is political in the sense that it is describing the lethargy and decadence of the old ruling class and its ultimate decay, but I’d rather have spent my time with the enthusiastic supporters or even opponents of the revolution.

It is, I freely admit, entirely unreasonable for me to grumble that Lampedusa wrote the book he wanted to write rather than the one I’d have liked to read, but so it goes sometimes. There was still enough in it for me to enjoy it overall, especially since the bits I found most interesting all came at the end, leaving me feeling much more enthusiastic about it than I had been halfway through. Putting my subjective disappointment with its focus to one side, I can quite see why many people have hailed it as a great book and I wouldn’t want my rather lukewarm review to put anyone off reading it. And in the end I’m glad to have read it, and feel I have gained a good deal of insight into a place and time about which I previously knew almost nothing.

22 people found this helpful

Mark

Should leopards change their spots after all?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2015

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This is a superb novel; and an excellent translation – it feels as though it was originally written in English rather than Italian. I loved this book from start to finish. All the key themes resonated with me and seem as relevant today as they probably did in 1960 or, indeed, 1860 (when the story is mostly set).

This is a novel that doesn't shy away from difficult truths. It's utterly authentic and sincere. But easy to read and, above all, a riveting story set against dramatic historical events: the Risorgimento, i.e. unification of Italy under Garibaldi and the Savoys. I didn't want the book to end; and found it profoundly moving. I think it's all about how to survive unavoidable change and reinvent oneself, however hard or unpalatable that may seem.

As an aside, I'd recommend reading the erudite Foreward by Lampedusa's adopted son after you've read the novel: it makes more sense and is more rewarding that way round.

I'd also recommend Viscount Norwich's recent history of Sicily if you enjoyed The Leopard. It really helps put it all in context.

61 people found this helpful

Finlacen

What classic novels are all about

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2019

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Ok. So I was motivated to read this book because I was going on holiday to Sicily. I would highly recommend anyone going to Sicily to do the same. But why not read it anyway! Some books capture the spirit of a place and answer questions that might be hard to glean from ordinary travel writing or history books. The life of the Prince, so intimately and profoundly described, perfectly reveals Lampedusa's view of Sicily during the lead-up to the revolution that saw the old, feudal system and the dominance of Sicily's noblemen finally overturned. Lampedusa also exposes, with dollops of pathos, humour or sharp insight, just what is it like to be a Sicilian, an inhabitant of a beautiful yet harsh land with its legacy of layers and layers of colonies and invasions. It is both political and existential. There are parts of this book that need to be read out loud to anyone who happens to be nearby - strangers even. They will be rewarded with guaranteed enlightenment or delight.

12 people found this helpful

GMR

The Leopard - a ‘revised’ clas

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 June 2021

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This book was a recommended read in a book listing, so duly purchased as I prefer historical non-fiction books or fiction books with an autobiographical feel. Whether there is another ‘revision’ or translated version of this book I do not know, but this particular version was as dull as ditch water. I had hoped to learn something about the historical and political transitions of Sicily but I found this book simply a turgid dirge on one aristocrat’s musings regarding his family circumstances having to change with the times…from his marriage, mistresses, family and finally ending with his death from illness/old age. I stuck with it through gritted teeth until the final page - my only feeling was of relief at finishing. At no point did I personally find any of the characters sympathetic unless they were those whose lives were little better than serfs at the mercy of both the aristocrats, the new rich and the political factions.

4 people found this helpful

Simon Knows Nothing

Great Coronavirus Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2020

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I bought this book to reread after a 10 year gap, in the middle of this Coronavirus crisis. The book is a masterpiece and I keep going back to reread fragments that are so evocative of a time and place, and yet also of every time and place. It's a collection of small incidents in the life of a Sicilian aristocrat, set against the backdrop of the unification of Italy under Garibaldi, who lands in Sicily in May 1860. Small incidents become ways of showing how ways of life are coming to an end. And yet Sicily and it's landscape are unchanged from Greek times. The only book that is anything like it is called "The Maker of Heavenly Trousers" which is about an Italian diplomat in China during the revolution. And is charming. There are so many beautiful scenes to pick but this is when the Leopard's daughter Concetta realises that the man she loves (Tancredi) has fallen at dinner for the beautiful daughter of a peasant born mayor called Angelica. "but Concetta had an intuition, an animal intuition..... and the little frown between her nose and forehead deepened; she wanted to kill as much as she wanted to die. But being a woman she snatched at details: Angelica's little finger in the air.....a reddish mole on the skin of her neck... and to these details, which were really quite insignificant as they were cauterised by sensual fascination, she clung as trustingly and desperately as a falling builder's boy snatches at a leaden gutter"
The book is really about life changing after a virus lands in Sicily. That virus being Garibaldi. Hence it's appropriateness.

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The Leopard: Revised and with new material (Vintage Classics) Revised Edition, Kindle Edition

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About the Author

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About the authors

Archibald Colquhoun

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

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