A fascinating documentary that presents the story of the writer's life, and examines the social and political events that influenced their works. Italian novelist Giuseppe Di Lampedusa (1896-1957) was a wealthy Sicilian pr... more »ince who drew on his family?s history for his internationally acclaimed work, Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), published posthumously in 1958. In urbane, elegant style, Lampedusa depicts the demise of an old, aristocratic society that came about with the unification of Italy. When The Leopard was published in 1958, it was very well received, although Lampedusa had already died a year earlier and was completely unknown as a writer.Lampedusa was very shy, and did not begin his writing career until very late in his life. He left the world no picture himself, except what was contained in his depiction of Don Fabrizio, the doomed aristocrat of his novel, whose declining fortunes reflected that of the Lampedusa family. The last of a long line of Sicilian nobility, Lampedusa grew up in a world that had little use for him, and he found his only refuge from the tedium of daily life in literature.Uncomfortable among intellectuals, Lampedusa made little use of his literary interests until middle age when he began to give informal lectures on English poetry and prose to a small group of friends. Gradually, he became up with the idea of writing a novel that would preserve the nearly vanished world of Sicily?s ancient regime. Lampedusa managed to transform what he himself saw as "a largely wasted life" into one of the most controversial and admired novels of the century. His only other work, Racconti (Two Stories and a Memory, 1962) appeared in 1961.« less
Genres:Educational, Documentary Sub-Genres:Educational, Biography Studio:Kultur Video Format:DVD - Color DVD Release Date: 07/25/2006 Release Year: 2006 Run Time: 0hr 45min Screens: Color Number of Discs: 1 SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Languages:English