LAMPEDUSA, Giuseppe Tomasi di.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). First edition of one of the most celebrated works of modern Italian literature. Earlier drafts of the author's sole novel had been rejected by two leading Italian publishers meaning the novel was only released a year after Lampedusa's death under the supervision of his widow. Consequently, it became one of the best-selling Italian novels of all time.Lampedusa was posthumously awarded the prestigious Strega Prize in 1959, and the novel has since been adapted for film (1963) and television (2025). "Lampedusa's Sicily is a place where the optimistic, progressive, rational forces of history as viewed in the 19th century... get lost in baroque back streets at midnight. As a myth, as a fiction of history, The Leopard will continue to ensnare minds, and not only in Italy. Lampedusa's despair is not so different from that of today's world, with its shrunken political expectations. We are all Sicilians now" (Jones).Il Gattopardo was published in an edition of 2,000 copies, dated November 1958 facing the title page and 25 October 1958 at the rear colophon.

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