Scarpia - Tapa dura

Críticas

"A remarkable novel. Witty, even cynical, observation leads to a conclusion profoundly moving." Graham Greene on MONK DAWSON

Like Tolstoy, Mr. Read is a realist, a densely social novelist who knows that public and private worlds intersect at every point . . . One of Britain's most intelligent and disturbing writers. Malcolm Bradbury, "The New York Times Book Review, on A MARRIED MAN"

Piers Paul Read is a young English novelist of much talent and intelligence--cool, wry, tough intelligence . . . Engaging and provocative. Jonathan Yardley, "The New York Times Book Review, on THE PROFESSOR'S DAUGHTER"

Mr. Read is one of the most promising writers of his generation. William Trevor, "The Guardian, on THE JUNKERS""

"A remarkable novel. Witty, even cynical, observation leads to a conclusion profoundly moving." --Graham Greene on MONK DAWSON

"Like Tolstoy, Mr. Read is a realist, a densely social novelist who knows that public and private worlds intersect at every point . . . One of Britain's most intelligent and disturbing writers." --Malcolm Bradbury, The New York Times Book Review, on A MARRIED MAN

"Piers Paul Read is a young English novelist of much talent and intelligence--cool, wry, tough intelligence . . . Engaging and provocative." --Jonathan Yardley, The New York Times Book Review, on THE PROFESSOR'S DAUGHTER

"Mr. Read is one of the most promising writers of his generation." --William Trevor, The Guardian, on THE JUNKERS

Reseña del editor

It is the late 18th century and Sicilian nobleman Vitello Scarpia finds himself penniless and in disgrace on the streets of Rome. After leaving his home in pursuit of a military career, his fiery passion has seen him expelled from the Spanish royal guard and left to seek his fortune in Italy; a fortune inseparably bound to the Pope, whose rule is put in question by the French Revolution.

Scarpia enrolls in the papal army and is soon taken up by a countess eager to have a handsome young officer at her side. She introduces Scarpia into Roman society, and he is both enthralled and agitated by its mix of religiosity, sophistication, decadence, and intrigue. Then, on a mission to Venice, he meets the gifted, beautiful singer Floria Tosca. And as the armies of revolutionary France advance into Italy, and war and revolution engulf the whole peninsula, these two lives become entwined.

Steeped in factual detail and exploring the lives--part historical, part fictional--of figures from Puccini's famous opera, Scarpia shines a light into dusty corridors of history and dark corners of the human soul.