Italian Chronicles
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The setting for these tales is a romanticized Italy, a place Stendhal viewed as unpolluted by bourgeois inhibitions and conformism. From the hothouse atmosphere of aristocratic convents to the horrors of the Cenci family, the tales in Italian Chronicles all feature passionate, transgressive characters engaged in “la chasse au bonheur”—the quest for happiness. Most of the tragic, violent tales are based on historical events, with Stendhal using history to validate his characters’ extreme behaviors as they battle literal and figurative oppression and try to break through to freedom.
Complete with revenge, bloody daggers, poisonings, and thick-walled nunneries, this new translation of Italian Chronicles includes four never-before-translated stories and a fascinating introduction detailing the origins of the book. It is sure to gratify established Stendhal fans as well as readers new to the writer.
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Stendhal, the pseudonym of Marie-Henri Beyle (1783–1842), is best known for his major novels The Red and the Black and The Charterhouse of Parma. He was a prolific writer in many genres, including novellas and tales.
Raymond N. MacKenzie is professor of English at the University of St. Thomas. He is the translator of Jules Barbey D’Aurevilly’s Diaboliques: Six Tales of Decadence (Minnesota, 2015).
