A new translation of one of Italy's best-selling classics, a sumptuous portrait of the Sicilian aristocracy in their twilight days on the eve of unification

In the dark heart of Sicily, the formidable Prince Fabrizio presides over his extensive kingdom. Known as “The Leopard” after his family shield, his power extends from opulent drawing rooms of the Villa Salina to his vast acres of land, and some say to the stars themselves. A towering patriarch able to bend spoons at his will, he is forced to confront the fast-dwindling fortunes of the family which threaten their accustomed opulence.

Meanwhile, change is in the air. Garibaldi’s red shirts march ever closer to Palermo, threatening to topple the aristocracy, and Fabrizio’s own shrewdly calculating nephew defects to their cause. Fabrizio realizes he faces a choice: cling to the crumbling institutions of old or to welcome in a new Italy.

Winner of the 1959 Strega Prize and told in a magisterial new translation, The Leopard memorialises the faded splendour of the Sicilian aristocracy on the eve of revolution. The only novel of Lampedusa, which posthumously catapulted him to fame and became Italy best-selling novel, The Leopard is steeped in the heady heat of its setting. It is both a ruthless portrait of a social class faced with its own extinction as well as a profound exploration of mortality, power and political change.

Translated by: Ralph Nisbet