Princes Under the Volcano: Two Hundred Years of a British Dynasty in Sicily

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Amazon Restaurants Food delivery from local restaurants. A solid work which, though presented as a very general series of historical and cultural facts and observations, is a very good complement to guide books and even to more detailed histories of Sicily see the following sections.

It is also a useful historiography if you are seeking an outline indicating information relative to various historians, visitors and expert commentators. Exploring the Ancient Mediterranean by Sanford Holst. A fine, pragmatic introduction to this unique civilization and its extensive influences on many societies, including an early presence in Sicily. For centuries, the Phoenicians and their descendants the Carthaginians ruled half of Sicily, a region contested by Greeks and then Romans. The Carthaginians nearly defeated Rome.

Here is the story of the conflict that changed the course of ancient Mediterranean history, and the reason why the words you are reading are written in Latin characters rather than Phoenician ones. City of Legends by Jeremy Dummett. This is a splendid, readable, illustrated overview of Siracusa, which rivalled Athens as the most important city of the ancient Greek world.

City of Kings by Jeremy Dummett. An eloquent follow-up to the author's book about Syracuse.

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The Normans in Sicily: If you thought the Norman conquerors of Sicily and England were long buried, this landmark work will bring them to life in vivid detail. Actually a recent omnibus edition combining two of Norwich's books written in the s, The Normans in Sicily chronicles the Conquest of Sicily "The Other Conquest" in breathtaking detail. The two separate volumes are in reprint: Published by Cambridge University Press, this book is a useful complementary work to the Norwich and Runciman books reviewed here and Houben's too.

In just over pages, Professor Matthew describes the economic, political and social development of the Kingdom of Sicily under the Normans. Roger II of Sicily: Best biography in print of the Norman king who led Sicily into its multicultural Golden Age. A Medieval Emperor by David Abulafia. His death in the middle of the thirteenth century signalled the end of an era in Sicily. Frederick, grandson of Roger II, was the greatest monarch of the 13th century. This defining work, the best biography ever written of this unique monarch, is great but not always in print. Nevertheless, the only book you should think about reading if you want to learn more about Sicily's most famous monarch.

Classic, defining work on the medieval revolution that changed European history.

This erudite author's fluid prose style, at once scholarly and literary, makes this unique book as entertaining as it is informative, a measure by which other medieval studies are judged. Its sweeping European and Mediterranean context leaves nothing to be desired. Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia contra Re Carlu is the longest piece of literature written in Middle Sicilian around to be translated into English. This work presents the orignal Sicilian text of this medieval chronicle, accompanied by notes by a scholar who knew Sir Steven Runciman, to whome the volume is dedicated.

Fascinating parallel biographies of four 13th-century sisters who married the kings of France, England, Germany and Sicily the island was then ruled from Naples. This very readable history traces many of the events leading to the Sicilian Vespers while providing a realistic glimpse of the Middle Ages. Frederick II, Manfred of Sicily, Peter of Aragon, France's saintly Louis IX whose heart reposes in Monreale Abbey and his nasty little brother Charles Anjou of Naples all play a role in a magnificent tapestry that shatters the stereotype of medieval women as helpless damsels.

A fine complement to Runciman's book. If Ms Goldstone didn't exist, we'd probably have to invent her. Saints, Queens and Rebels by Jacqueline Alio. Significantly, the first book about the historical women of Sicily — mostly before — written in English in the original by a Sicilian woman based in Sicily. While it is intended for a general readership, the breezy narrative reflects a scholarly perspective.

An appendix is dedicated to the status of Sicilian women today, and an introductory chapter provides enough background for the reader to understand Sicilian history generally. This book is an uncommon entry into the fray.

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Margaret, Queen of Sicily. This page biography is the longest historical work ever written in English by a Sicily-based scholar. It's also the first biography in any language about this remarkable woman. Margaret's story should be required reading for anybody interested in medieval Sicily. Also published as The Lady Queen, this is the story of brave, brillaint Joan Anjou of Naples , generally considered the first woman in Europe to rule in her own right.

The title of book and queen are slightly misleading; for the most part Joanna claimed Sicily without ruling it, because the island was actually ruled by the House of Aragon after However, the text does describe the contested island kingdom's chaotic interregnum of the 14th century and the intrigues of the so-called "Four Vicars" including the cunning Chiaramonte clan. Joanna's foray onto the island, at Messina in , led to her brief control of a small piece of it.

Superlative history of Italy and its regions, with half the book dedicated to the centuries since The Force of Destiny: Detailed, sometimes disturbing, look at Italian unification, the controversial Risorgimento, by an eminent historian. This masterful, eloquent account of who Italy's monarchs were and what they got up to usually something not very edifying demonstrates once again why Mack Smith is widely viewed as the leading authority on Italy writing in the English language.

Revolution in a Sicilian Town by Lucy Riall. This opus details the ruthless massacre at Bronte, in eastern Sicily, by Nino Bixio in Based on masterful research, Professor Riall's book covers enough history to provide ample context. Published in by Oxford University Press there is also an Italian edition , this is a sober — and sobering — account of what actually took place.

All that has been done to ensure that the Italians of the South became 'southerners' by Pino Aprile. Italian bestseller that confronts the realities of and reasons for Italy's regionalism. The Dark Heart of Italy: An incisive portrait of Europe's most beautiful, most disconcerting country by Tobias Jones.

Fascinating look at today's Italy, though Sicily figures very little in this candid portrait of life in this fascinating country. The Battle for Sicily by Carlo d'Este. Detailed, definitive history of the Allied invasion of and the events leading up to it. The Day of Battle: The war in Sicily and Italy by Rick Atkinson. A more general history than Carlo d'Este's, but Atkinson places the war in a slightly larger context.

Candid, insightful and a good complement to other books on the subject. Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre. Military history at its best. As lively as a spy novel, this book recounts the secret mission that preceded the invasion of Sicily in and inspired a young Ian Fleming, one of the naval officers who masterminded it, to create James Bond. The Battle of Sicily: A fine analysis which supplements other histories of this subject, this work considers the strategy of the Allies and the effective defensive tactics of the German forces.

Midnight in Sicily by Peter Robb. The title of this debut book by an Australian author who lived and taught in Italy for 14 years refers to the events which open and close its time frame - the hour the Allies landed on the Sicilian coast on a night in July , and the sober trial of former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti for Mafia association in Palermo from to The Andreotti prosecution was less successful than the Allies' efforts; the lifetime politician was acquitted following this book's publication.

Insightful, even revealing, and Italian politics hasn't changed much in recent years. The long reach of the international Sicilian Mafia by Claire Sterling. Slightly dated it was published in but a good general survey of organized crime in Sicily. Solid, if slightly dated, work dealing with organized crime and its connections to the Italian government into the mids a few such connections probably remain and the government is still infamously corrupt.

Princes Under the Volcano: Two Hundred Years of a British Dynasty in Sicily

Good English treatment of the Mafia during that period and the murders of judges Falcone and Borsellino. At almost pages, quite detailed. Here the focus is on the Mafia's commercial side, which is becoming increasingly important. A sound analysis though slightly dated and perhaps a bit limited in scope. The Last Godfathers by John Follian. A very good overview, some biographies and up-to-date information, published in Follian does an exceptional job at analysis and explanation. This is one of the better studies of the Mafia as it is today, with a more-or-less complete cast of criminal characters, including a few infamous fugitives.

Genealogy and Family History. Sicilian Genealogy and Heraldry by Louis Mendola. First published in , this is the only book about Sicilian family history research, and indeed the first book of its kind written in English with a focus on a specific Italian region. An excellent guide, and perhaps the cornerstone of a personal library dealing with Sicilian genealogical research. While all researchers will benefit, it is written for professionals or very dedicated amateurs. There are no pictures of actual records as the author presumes that most readers, being somewhat experienced, will have at least a perfunctory knowledge of Italian.

Plenty of information packed into a page book which, were it not for its rather small print, might have run to pages. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Historical Fiction Translated by Archibald Colquhoun. Fiction Published in Italy in following its author's death, The Leopard rapidly climbed the international bestseller lists in The author, a Sicilian nobleman, weaves a fabulously rich tapestry of Sicilian aristocratic life around , when the unification movement interrupts more than a century of Bourbon rule by the Kings of Naples.

As the Kingdom of Naples or the Two Sicilies comes to an end, a new order arrives, but is it nothing more than the Old Order in new clothes? Read our special review of this classic novel. Read about the author's biography in the following section. Read more on Amazon. Traditional Fiction A new translation of the greatest Italian short story writer since Boccaccio. Born into a well-to-do Sicilian family in Vizzini near Catania , Giovanni Verga became an active observer of Milanese salon society in the s and s but eventually found in the everyday lives of Sicilian peasants the inspiration for his finest narratives.

Translated by Mark Musa. Traditional Fiction Sicilian-born Luigi Pirandello is best known in the English-speaking world for his radical challenge to traditional Western theatre with plays such as "Six Characters in Search of an Author. Pirandello believed in the primacy of the literary character in a creative process fraught with internal conflicts.

Translated by Sacha Ravinovitch and Marie Evans. Fiction He was one of Sicily's most eminent authors. Leonardo Sciascia, who died in , wrote most of his fiction in the s and s. Much of it dealt with his longstanding fascination with important moral issues in politics, the law, and Fascism. Certain metaphysical themes appeared every now and then. Sciascia posed good moral questions that nobody will ever answer perfectly. The Day of the Owl by Leonardo Sciascia. Fiction This might be described as early Italian Mafia fiction, circa , a kind of metaphysical mystery set in rural Sicily, nothing like Mario Puzo's stylized, American Godfather series.

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At pages, entertaining and fast-paced. Sicilian Dynasty by Daniela Di Benedetto. Contemporary Fiction First published in Italian as L'Erede, this novel tells the story of a wealthy agricultural family whose fortunes change through personal tragedy, the threat of the Mafia and a touch of disloyalty. Told from the parallel perspectives of a husband and wife, the journey takes the reader along a path full of twists and turns. Antonio, the protagonist, must confront all kinds of challenges among his family and friends but, as is so often the case, his worst demons live within himself.

Set late in the twentieth century and spanning two decades, Sicilian Dynasty reflects the stark realities of Sicily faced by many people during those times. It is their reactions, ranging from disillusion to denial, that make this an interesting psychological study. This is one of just a few mainstream novels by Sicilian women to find their way into hard copy in English, reaching an international readership those by Lara Cardella and Melissa Panarello follow. Translated by Diana Di Carcaci. Fiction Living in a remote Sicilian town in the early s, Annetta, barely thirteen years old, doesn't dream of the romantic prince who will carry her away from an eternal boredom.

Instead, the young narrator dreams of wearing pants rather than the "mandatory" dress or skirt. She imagines that this will liberate her from the stifling atmosphere that permeates the village of her birth. But the Women's Movement is still years away Traditional Fiction Set in the early twentieth century, these recently-translated stories were written by one of just a handful of Sicilian women whose work was published before Messina died in They speak to the struggles and realities of those times.

Death in Bagheria by Susan Russo Anderson. Historical Fiction In this gripping tale of murder and deceit, a baroness is poisoned and a family in western Sicily in stands to have its darkest, most intimate secrets revealed.

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Serafina Florio is a midwife-turned-sleuth who seeks to unravel the mystery. This is not, strictly speaking, "native" Sicilian fiction as it isn't a work in translation; the author, though descended from Sicilians, is American.

Reinventing the Royals 2: Succession

Translated by Lawrence Venuti. Influenced by the work of Anais Nin, it is both erotic and literary. An instant blockbuster in Italy, where it has sold over , copies, though some critics have noted that as "erotica" it does not always live up to the standards of its genre. Fiction Urbane Sicilian police inspector Salvo Montalbano makes his long overdue English-language debut in this spare and spry English translation of the first novel in the series.

The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. The Greek myths, some of which are set in Sicily, are the earliest surviving Sicilian literature. This book, with its scholarly language, is the standard reference our writers consult.