Set in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed t
ells the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, prevented from marrying by
the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, the
y are then cruelly separated, and must face many dangers including plague, famin
e and imprisonment, and confront a variety of strange characters the mysterious
Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo and the sinister Unnamed' in their str
uggle to be reunited. A vigorous portrayal of enduring passion, The Betrothed's
exploration of love, power and faith presents a whirling panorama of seventeenth
-century Italian life and is one of the greatest European historical novels.
