Maggiore (1882–1954) captures the pomp and pageantry of Italy’s tumultuous process of unification and its impact on a family living in 1866 Palermo in his rich English-language debut, first published in Italy in 1952. The principals among the large cast embody a cross-section of values and ideologies: marchese Don Fabrizio Cortada, an aging aristocrat, is a supporter of the deposed Bourbon monarch Francisco II; his unfaithful younger wife, Teodora, supports the anti-monarchist revolution; Don Fabrizio’s Marxist brother Federico attempts to turn his estate into a utopian socialist community with disastrous results; and Don Fabrizio’s nephew Goffredo, heir apparent to the Cortada estate, is a dedicated follower of Garibaldi, the nationalist republican whose quest for unification underpins the novel’s sprawling plot. Maggiore endows all his characters with distinctive and sympathetic personalities that help make the social conflicts, politics, and power shifts of the era accessible to contemporary readers even if they aren’t well versed in Italian history. And though the tone is generally light, the story is not without grueling depictions of street combat that emphasize the drama of its characters’ beliefs and actions. Admirers of The Leopard are sure to be taken in. (Self-published)