The British critic David Gilmour concludes his biography of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa with a sweeping assertion: "No novel in Italian literature has caused so much argument, aroused so much passion and begun so many quarrels as The Leopard." The statement is certainly valid as regards literary works published in Italy in the twentieth century, though another historical novel, Alessandro Manzoni's I promessi sposi (1827; translated as The Betrothed, 1828), may be argued to fit more accurately Gilmour's assertion. Even so, there is no doubt that both novels have left indelible marks on Italian culture. The books have much in common: both are grounded in history and deal with socioeconomic distinctions; and both present memorable characters who represent essential expressions of Italian life. In Lampedusa's case, the reaction to Il Gattopardo (1958; translated as The Leopard, 1960) was complicated by the ideological factors operative in post-World War II Italy. The novel became...