A novel, set in Italy after World War II, about the problems and difficulties of trying to make other people happy. Originally published in 1986. From the author of THE GOLDEN CHILD, THE BEGINNING OF SPRING, THE GATE OF ANGELS and THE BLUE FLOWER.
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‘Reading a Penelope Fitzgerald novel is like being taken for a ride in a peculiar kind of car. Everything is of top quality – the engine, the coachwork and the interior all fill you with confidence. Then, after a mile or so, someone throws the steering-wheel out of the window.’ Sebastian Faulks
‘Wise and ironic, funny and humane, Fitzgerald is a wonderful, wonderful writer.’ David Nicholls
‘Penelope Fitzgerald’s Innocence seems to me to be about real people undergoing real experiences, more real and more interesting than most biographies, and it carries absolute conviction as to time and place. What more could one ask of a novel?’ Spectator Books of the Year
‘Innocence weilds a curious fascination, replete with the sense of sleepy, slightly anxious fatalism that pervades much of the Italian cinema of the period. Its magic, and its message, are as oblique and inconclusive as the lives of its characters, but both have a lingering power, refreshingly fictive, deliciously un-English.’ Literary Review
‘I know of no one who expresses so deftly and entertainingly the way in which life seldom turns out as expected. A wonderful book.’ Spectator
‘This is by far the fullest and richest of Penelope Fitzgerald’s novels, and also the most ambitious. Her writing, as ever, has a natural authority, is very funny, warm and gently ironic, and full of tenderness towards human beings and their bravery in living.’ TLS
A delectable comedy of manners. Boston Globe
The Ridolfi are a Florentine family of long lineage and little money. It is 1955, Italy is still struggling back after the war, and the family, like its decrepit villa and farm, has seen better days. Among the Ridolfi, only eighteen-year-old Chiara shows anything like vitality. But it s a vitality matched by innocence a dangerous combination, to herself and to all who love her.
Chiara sets her heart on the bull-headed Salvatore, a brilliant young doctor from the south who resolved long ago to be emotionally dependent on no one. Stymied, she calls on her resourceful English girlfriend, Barney, to help her make the impossible match. And so ensues a comedy of errors, in which guileless lovers, with the best of intentions, considerable charm, and the kindest of instincts, succeed in making one another thoroughly and astonishingly miserable.
An exquisite mosaic, where every tiny piece is part of a world. A. S. Byatt, Threepenny Review
PENELOPE FITZGERALD (1916 2000) was one of the most elegant and distinctive voices in British fiction. She won the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction for The Blue Flower, the Booker Prize for Offshore, and three of her novels The Bookshop, The Gate of Angels, and The Beginning of Spring were short-listed for the Booker Prize.
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Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Hardback. Condition: Fair. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR006216049
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Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.01. Seller Inventory # G0002231050I3N00
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Seller: Brit Books, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Used; Very Good. ***Simply Brit*** Welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there is something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality. Seller Inventory # 4080409
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Seller: steve porter books, Salisbury, WILTS, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st impression, 1986. Spine of dust wrapper slightly "sunned", otherwise all fine. Seller Inventory # 000216
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Attic Books (ABAC, ILAB), London, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Very good +. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good +. First Edition. 224 p. 22 cm. Brown cloth in dustjacket. Front flap price clipped. Spine sunned. A little dust to top edge. Seller Inventory # 132978
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description; [224]p ; 14cm. Subjects; Young women Italy Florence Fiction. Upper class Italy Florence Fiction. Physicians Italy Florence Fiction. Fiction in English 1945 Texts. 1 Kg. Seller Inventory # 369889
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HADDON'S, Hastings, ESUX, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover with dust-jacket.First impression.Spine ends of book mildly bruised.No foxing or tanning.No inscriptions.Light creasing to dust-jacket top edge.Spine faded and price clipped.Generally good to very good. Seller Inventory # 001226
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: booksonlinebrighton, Brighton, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Brown Boards with gilt titles to spine, 220 x 145 mm approx. 224 pp. First Edition 1st printing 1986.Novel set in 1950's Italy by a Booker Prize winning author. Please see our images of the actual book offered for sale for further details and condition. As New / Near Fine (Book- no previous owner name or insc. No faults. Dust Jacket - non price clipped cover £9.95, slight fading to spine. No other notable defects. Supplied in a removable proprietary protective sleeve). Seller Inventory # 127501
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland
First Edition. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description; [224]p ; 14cm. Subjects; Young women Italy Florence Fiction. Upper class Italy Florence Fiction. Physicians Italy Florence Fiction. Fiction in English 1945 Texts. 1 Kg. Seller Inventory # 369889
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Raymond Tait, Beccles, SUFFO, United Kingdom
Original Cloth. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. First Edition. Boards have two small dents in the bottom edge of the rear panel. Very slight marking to page edges but pages otherwise clean and unmarked. The jacket has fading to the spine and slight edge and surface wear. First printing. Seller Inventory # 012491
Quantity: 1 available