A lost literary classic, written in 1894, The Viceroys is one of the most acclai
med masterworks of Italian realism. The novel follows three generations of the a
ristocratic Uzeda family as it struggles to hold on to power in the face of the
cataclysmic changes rocking Sicily. As Garibaldi's triumphs move Italy toward un
ification, the Uzedas try every means to retain their position.
De Roberto's
satirical and mordant pen depicts a cast of upper-class schemers, headed by the
old matriarch, Donna Teresa, and exemplified by her arrogant and totally unscrup
ulous son, Consalvo, who rises to political eminence through lip service, double
-dealing, and hypocrisy. The Viceroys is a vast dramatic panorama: a new world f
ighting to shrug off the viciousness and iniquities of the old.
