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Mastro-Don Gesualdo
Paperback
Classic FictionGeneral FictionLiterary Fiction
ISBN13: 9781025831763
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 482
Weight: 1.47
Height: 0.97 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Mastro-Don Gesualdo is a cornerstone of Italian literary realism and a powerful exploration of ambition, social climbing, and the relentless pursuit of wealth. Set in early 19th-century Sicily, Giovanni Verga's masterpiece chronicles the life of Gesualdo Motta, an industrious peasant who rises through sheer will and labor to become a wealthy landowner. However, his hard-won fortune brings little peace; despite earning the title Don, he remains an outcast among the aristocracy and estranged from the family he sought to elevate.
As a primary example of the verismo movement, the novel offers a vivid and unflinching portrait of a society in transition. Verga employs a stark, objective style to depict the harsh realities of provincial life, the complexities of class structure, and the tragic isolation that often accompanies material success. Through the character of Gesualdo, the work examines the human cost of obsession and the inevitable disillusionment that follows the sacrifice of emotional bonds for social status. Mastro-Don Gesualdo remains a profound meditation on the cycles of poverty and the fragility of the human spirit when pitted against the rigid hierarchies of history.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
8 different editions
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