The House by the Medlar Tree

Giovanni Verga's best-known book is I Malavoglia (pronounce it: I malava]). It was initially published in 1881. The House by the Medlar-Tree (1890), translated into English by Mary A. Craig, was released as part of the Continental Classics series. Along with Mastro-don Gesualdo, La Duchessa di Leyra, L'Onorevole Scipioni, and L'uomo di Lusso, which also address the issue of social and economic advancement, this work is a member of the Ciclo dei vinti. The final two novels intended for the Ciclo, L'Onorevole Scipioni and L'Uomo di Lusso, were not even started, while La Duchessa de Leyra remained simply a manuscript. In the Sicilian village of Aci Trezza, which is close to Catania, a family of fishermen lives and works, as the subject of the novel I Malavoglia.