Stories by English Authors: Italy (selected by Scribners)

For Victorian Englishmen, Italy was never merely a country. It was a mirror for their desires and anxieties: a land of ancient ruins and dangerous passions, of sun-drenched landscapes and shadowed intrigues. This anthology gathers six tales by English writers who found in Italy something they could not find at home adventure, ruin, and the sweet shock of encountering a civilization that measured men by different standards. The stories follow English travelers navigating Italy's treacherous terrain. Wealthy young heirs lose fortunes at the gaming tables, trusted servants commit acts of desperate loyalty, and strangers collide in cities where passion simmers beneath surfaces of elegant society. James Payn's opening tale "A Faithful Retainer" introduces Richard, the Luscombe heir, whose passion for gambling leads him to a racecourse and ultimately to ruin at the hands of his trusted butler a betrayal that cuts deeper than any financial loss. These are stories about what happens when English money and English morals encounter Italian heat. They belong on the shelf next to Forster and James, for anyone who loves the genre of the Grand Tour told from the dark side.