A Study in Solitude

The Life of Leopardi - Poet, Romantic and Radical

Iris Origo

• Publisher: Pushkin Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781782272687
• eBook ISBN:
  9781782272809
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Biographies
• Index: Literature

An extremely moving account of the lonely life of the unloved and tragic genius - described as "the greatest modern Italian poet" 'Love me, by God; I need love, love, love, fire, enthusiasm, life. The world does not seem made for me' Giacomo Leopardi, considered the greatest Italian poet since Dante, was one of the most radical thinkers of the nineteenth century. He also regarded himself one of the most miserable and unfortunate people to have lived. Born to strict parents in a provincial town in 1798, he had a lonely childhood, and he spent his time largely in his father's library. He suffered from a debilitating illness, and his short life was full of pain. But this pain and misery gave rise to some of the most intense and brilliant poems ever written in the Italian language. In this poetic biography, Iris Origo, author of the bestselling War in Val d'Orcia traces the short and lonely life of this conflicted poet. Written with generosity and understanding, A Study in Solitude is a sharp, moving portrait of a frail and frustrated genius. Iris Origo (1902-1988) was a British-born biographer and writer. She lived in Italy and devoted much of her life to the improvement of the Tuscan estate at La Foce, which she purchased with her husband in the 1920s. During WWII, she sheltered refugee children and assisted many escaped Allied prisoners of war and partisans in defiance of Italy's fascist regime and Nazi occupation forces. Pushkin Press also publishes her war diaries, War in Val d'Orcia, her memoir, Images and Shadows, as well as another of her biographies, The Last Attachment.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• I: Gens Leoparda
• II: The Making of a Poet
• III: In Conte Monaldo’s Library (1812–1817)
• IV: La Donna Che Non Si Trova (1817–1818)
• V: Friendship and Patriotism (1817–1819)
• VI: An Attempt at Flight (1819)
• VII: The Poet
• VIII: Two Winters of Discontent (1820–1822)
• IX: Rome (1822–1823)
• X: The ‘Operette Morali’
• XI: Milan and Bologna (1823–1826)
• XII: Florence and Pisa (1826–1827)
• XIII: Remembrance (1828–1830)
• XIV: Ranieri (1830–1832)
• XV: Aspasia
• XVI: Hope Deferred (1832–1833)
• XVII: To Naples (1833–1835)
• XVIII: The Setting of the Moon (1836–1837)
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author
• Copyright