Innocence (Fitzgerald novel)
 Cover to first edition hardback | |
| Author | Penelope Fitzgerald |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1986 (Collins) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
Innocence is a novel by British author Penelope Fitzgerald. Set in Italy, it is a comedy of manners concerning the marriage of the young daughter of an old but impoverished aristocratic family, and a beginning neurologist who has tried to cut himself off from emotion.
Background
Fitzgerald had visited Italy frequently during the years 1949–83, including her belated honeymoon with Desmond (who had partly spent World War II in Italy), and a solo trip in 1976 as Desmond was dying, at his insistence. The Fitzgeralds had published Italian fiction in World Review in the 1950s. Fitzgerald was familiar with the Communist Cesare Pavese.[Note 1]
Reception
The result is as satisfying as it is entertaining.
Critical review
The novel has a chapter of its own in Peter Wolfe Understanding Penelope Fitzgerald[2] and Hermione Lee Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life.[3]
Notes
- ↑ The count's nephew, named Cesare, is directly compared with Pavese (chapter 4).
References
- ↑ Gross, John (1987-04-28). "Books of the Times: Innocence". New York Times: C17.
- ↑ Wolfe 2004, pp. 184–211.
- ↑ Lee 2014, pp. 301–16.
Further reading
- Wolfe, Peter (2004). "Stumbling into Geopolitics". Understanding Penelope Fitzgerald. University of South Carolina Press.
- Lee, Hermione (2014). "Innocence". Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf.