The Priest’s Hat

THE PRIEST’S HAT is a suspenseful, moving, and darkly ironic tale loosely based on Count Alessandro Faella’s murder of the priest Virgilio Costa in Imola in 1881. Against the background of late nineteenth-century Naples, the novel brings us the meltdown of an aging playboy, Carlo Coriolano, the last baron of a once-wealthy and powerful clan. A precursor of the Italian giallo genre, The Priest’s Hat was first published in 1887 in installments. Echoing the works of Dostoyevsky and Dickens, De Marchi intended this novel as an accessible yet literate exposé of contemporary Italian society with its culture of gossip, rumor, and superstition; of powerful gangs and clergy; of misleading new philosophies; a frivolous, inept and corrupt media; and an inequitable justice system. Introduction and notes. Translated by Steve Eaton and Cinzia Russi. 3-Kindle 978-1-59910- B0CZ96HPT5 192pp. 0.00lb. $9.99 £8.00 €9.00 $CA14.00 $AU15.00Pub. Date: 9/1/2023— Google Books