Narcisa and Other Stories

Luigi Gualdo

Translated by Brendan and Anna Connell

Among the numerous Italian writers who were active in the second half of the nineteenth century, Luigi Gualdo (1844-1898), the somewhat obscure and forgotten author of the stories in the present volume, is surely one of the most deserving of rehabilitation. His work, highly refined, eccentric, and full of both sentiment and pessimism, though often categorized with the Italian Scapigliatura school, also shares many of the tendencies of the French Decadent movement, with which Gualdo was well familiar.

The three tales here presented, all appearing for the first time in English, superbly translated by Brendan and Anna Connell, include two of the great classics of Italian fantastic fiction, “Narcisa” and “A Song by Weber,” as well as one of Gualdo’ s more bizarre pieces, “A Bet.”

About the Author
Luigi Gualdo (1844-1898) was born into a wealth family in Milan. He wrote poetry, short stories and novels, in both Italian and French, spent his time navigating between Italy and France, and associated with many of the most important writers of both countries. His works include: Novelle (1868), Une ressemblance (1873), Un marriage excentrique (1879), and Decadenza (1892).

About the Translator
Brendan and Anna Connell have together translated numerous texts from Italian, including Alcina and Other Stories , by Guido Gozzano (Snuggly Books, 2019).

Paperback, 136 pages. Release date:  September 10, 2024
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-155-2
Price: US$16.00