Synopses & Reviews
A young woman trapped in a provincial town dreams of being rescued by love. But the Marchesa Colombi puts a twist on that old plot in her story of Denza Dellara, a clumsy Cinderella too big for her hand-me-downs and saddled with a family that seems to go to great lengths to frustrate her hopes-and to make her see reality. To escape everyday boredom, Denza conceives a love for the most unlikely of Prince Charmings, the gargantuan Onorato, a rich local who quotes opera to her but cannot possibly marry a girl without a dowry. Denza carries on a romantic vigil for her "elephant" while lamenting her many woes, until she catches the attention of a prosperous farmer. This Frog Prince has an enormous wart on his forehead, but he can end her daydreaming and save her from impending spinsterhood . . . if she lets him. Paula Spurlin Paige's engaging translation at last introduces this masterpiece of modern Italian literature to an English-speaking audience.
Review
"[S]he depicts mean, cramped lives, with a ruthless eye [and] precise strokes [to] convey the greatest sadness with the lightest poetic touch."
--Italo Calvino
Synopsis
"This 1885 novella, which reappeared in 1973 under the editorship of the late Italo Calvino, was the most celebrated work of a pseudonymous Italian writer who may remind contemporary readers of an edgier, funnier George Sand . . . A trailblazing work, in its way, and a most welcome rediscovery." --Kirkus Reviews
Denza Dellara is a clumsy Cinderella too big for her hand-me-downs, saddled with a family that frustrates her hopes, and in love with a gargantuan Prince Charming who woos and then betrays her. An engaging Frog Prince appears, and though he has an enormous wart on his forehead, he can end her daydreaming and save her from impending spinsterhood . . . if she lets him.
Synopsis
Denza Dellara is a clumsy Cinderella too big for her hand-me-downs, saddled with a family that frustrates her hopes, and in love with a gargantuan Prince Charming who woos and then betrays her. An engaging Frog Prince appears, and though he has an enormous wart on his forehead, he can end her daydreaming and save her from impending spinsterhood . . . if she lets him.
About the Author
The Marchesa Colombi (1840-1920) was born Maria Antonietta Torriani in the town of Novara. At thirty she moved to Milan and became a journalist, a novelist, a translator, and an active feminist who taught English in a Milanese liceo founded to offer women an alternative education. She produced popular works like In risaia and Prima morire but had been forgotten until A Small-Town Marriage was reprinted in Italy in 1973.