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Vendetta
Imagine friends and family believed you were dead from the Cholera- Imagine being buried alive and awakening in your coffin - Now, imagine a frantic escape from the rotting crypt only to discover something worse waiting in store.... Thus begins Marie Corelli's 1886 Victorian suspense-thriller, Vendetta. Awakening to find he has been prematurely buried, Fabio narrowly escapes from his decrepit family mausoleum in order to seek revenge upon those who have wronged him. Disfigured from the Cholera, Fabio assumes a new identity and name, and re-introduces himself to his family who are unaware of his true character. The plan he sets in motion is gruesomely terrifying - and deliciously perverse. More than a novel of revenge, Vendetta is a finely tuned character study of madness, obsession, decadence, and a celebration of Gothic settings unrivaled by even Edgar Allan Poe. Impossible to put down, it is easy to see why Marie Corelli was called the Queen of Victorian best-sellers, for Vendetta remains as spellbinding today as it was over a century ago.
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1890
49 people are currently reading
685 people want to read
About the author
Marie Corelli
431 books184 followersMarie Corelli (born Mary Mackay) was a best-selling British novelist of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, whose controversial works of the time often label her as an early advocate of the New Age movement.
In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.
She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.
In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.
She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
June 1, 2024
J'ADORE CE LIVRE HAHAHAHAHAHAH. c'était génial je me suis sentie tout du long comme le méchant protagoniste. cette histoire c'est genre la grand-mère de tous les livres dark academia sans l'université et avec davantage de tombeaux. et avec la couverture dorée. et avec des gens italiens qui font des duels. et avec le carnaval. et la peste au début. et un bateau. et un banquet. et des roses et des endroits d'où on peut espionner sans être vu. et un trésor. et la VENGEANCE. purée qu'est-ce que j'ai kiffé.
beaucoup de personnes qui lisent le livre ajd se plaignent de sa misogynie, du fait que le narrateur (qui s'exprime à la PREMIERE PERSONNE, et ça me semble très important de le dire) passe son temps à hurler qu'il hait les femmes etc etc, mais je vous invite à adopter mon interprétation et ma vision des choses car
1) ça rendra la lecture immensément agréable et hilarante
et
2) je pense que j'ai raison
3) enfin je ne sais pas je n'en sais rien je ne connais pas l'intérieur de la tête de Marie Corelli étant donné qu'elle est décédée il y a un temps relativement considérable MAIS j'ai décidé que j'avais raison car ma grille de lecture est très jubilatoire et j'ai adoré lire le livre comme cela et je considère que nous vivons une vie dont l'objectif est de retirer le minimum de souffrance et le maximum de kif possible, DONC
Marie Corelli était une écrivaine à une époque où le mot écrivain n'avait pas d'autre genre que masculin. elle s'est dit : je vais infiltrer le game en reprenant les codes de tous ces gros cons et en les poussant au MAXIMUM. ils ont bâti un genre littéraire entier (le roman) sur des tropes sexistes et misogynes. ben je vais les réinstrumentaliser. je vais leur faire croire que je suis de leur côté. tout en emmenant le grotesque et la bêtise de cette rhétorique à un niveau tel qu'il en devient aberrant pour qqn avec un minimum de corticulation mentale que tout cela est absurde et que le narrateur est un gros morceau de caca.
Corelli de son vivant refusait le terme de féminisme, m'opposera-t-on, ce à quoi je répondrai : mais bien sûr mec elle vivait dans l'Angleterre du XIXe siècle et elle voulait avoir une carrière d'autrice, tu penses vrmt qu'elle allait dire "euh je suis une militante antipatriarcale" ??? réfléchissons soyons sérieux ne regardons pas tant le mot qu'elle utilisait ou non mais plutôt la façon dont elle a construit sa vie :
1) elle a été férocement indépendante et a vécu toute sa vie en habitant avec une femme
2) elle était fervente avocate de l'indépendance économique des femmes
3) elle a clashé plein de ses contemporains pour leur dire que les femmes étaient tout aussi intelligentes que les hommes
écoutez si avec ça vous pensez qu'en fait elle était férocement misogyne et que ce livre en est la preuve je vais tout bonnement retourner me coucher car je n'ai pas la force. à mes yeux ce livre est un plaisir absolu parce qu'on y passe 400 pages à se foutre de la gueule des hommes, à se foutre de la gueule du concept même de VENGEANCE, à montrer combien cette logique détruit et casse et abîme tout. je sais pas ce que vous en penserez mais je peux vous garantir que si on le lit comme ça, le roman devient jouissif. jouissons. non je retire ce que j'ai dit ce mot est horrible. profitons. voilà. cela est mieux.
beaucoup de personnes qui lisent le livre ajd se plaignent de sa misogynie, du fait que le narrateur (qui s'exprime à la PREMIERE PERSONNE, et ça me semble très important de le dire) passe son temps à hurler qu'il hait les femmes etc etc, mais je vous invite à adopter mon interprétation et ma vision des choses car
1) ça rendra la lecture immensément agréable et hilarante
et
2) je pense que j'ai raison
3) enfin je ne sais pas je n'en sais rien je ne connais pas l'intérieur de la tête de Marie Corelli étant donné qu'elle est décédée il y a un temps relativement considérable MAIS j'ai décidé que j'avais raison car ma grille de lecture est très jubilatoire et j'ai adoré lire le livre comme cela et je considère que nous vivons une vie dont l'objectif est de retirer le minimum de souffrance et le maximum de kif possible, DONC
Marie Corelli était une écrivaine à une époque où le mot écrivain n'avait pas d'autre genre que masculin. elle s'est dit : je vais infiltrer le game en reprenant les codes de tous ces gros cons et en les poussant au MAXIMUM. ils ont bâti un genre littéraire entier (le roman) sur des tropes sexistes et misogynes. ben je vais les réinstrumentaliser. je vais leur faire croire que je suis de leur côté. tout en emmenant le grotesque et la bêtise de cette rhétorique à un niveau tel qu'il en devient aberrant pour qqn avec un minimum de corticulation mentale que tout cela est absurde et que le narrateur est un gros morceau de caca.
Corelli de son vivant refusait le terme de féminisme, m'opposera-t-on, ce à quoi je répondrai : mais bien sûr mec elle vivait dans l'Angleterre du XIXe siècle et elle voulait avoir une carrière d'autrice, tu penses vrmt qu'elle allait dire "euh je suis une militante antipatriarcale" ??? réfléchissons soyons sérieux ne regardons pas tant le mot qu'elle utilisait ou non mais plutôt la façon dont elle a construit sa vie :
1) elle a été férocement indépendante et a vécu toute sa vie en habitant avec une femme
2) elle était fervente avocate de l'indépendance économique des femmes
3) elle a clashé plein de ses contemporains pour leur dire que les femmes étaient tout aussi intelligentes que les hommes
écoutez si avec ça vous pensez qu'en fait elle était férocement misogyne et que ce livre en est la preuve je vais tout bonnement retourner me coucher car je n'ai pas la force. à mes yeux ce livre est un plaisir absolu parce qu'on y passe 400 pages à se foutre de la gueule des hommes, à se foutre de la gueule du concept même de VENGEANCE, à montrer combien cette logique détruit et casse et abîme tout. je sais pas ce que vous en penserez mais je peux vous garantir que si on le lit comme ça, le roman devient jouissif. jouissons. non je retire ce que j'ai dit ce mot est horrible. profitons. voilà. cela est mieux.
October 30, 2023
Merci Eyrolles d'avoir traduit pour la première fois en français ce roman gothique pour le moins fascinant. Car oui, Marie Corelli l'a écrit au 19e siècle, a scandalisé son époque, est devenue la coqueluche de politiques et d'auteurs, mais il a fallu attendre 2023 pour lire cette pépite.
C'est une œuvre gothique délicieuse qui nous plonge à Naples, en 1884. Alors que l'épidémie de choléra fait rage, le jeune conte Fabio Romani tombe malade et est enterré... vivant. Une fois sorti de sa sombre demeure, il retrouve avec joie le chemin de sa maison, heureux d'annoncer à sa femme, sa fille et son meilleur ami sa mésaventure, somme toute drôle quand on y réfléchit. Sauf qu'à son arrivée, il se rend compte que sa femme le trompe avec son soi-disant meilleur ami et qu'ils n'éprouvent pas la moindre peine à l'annonce de son décès. Démarre alors pour Fabio une longue et complexe vendetta, une vengeance qui seule pourra apaiser son cœur meurtri.
Dans ce Naples ensoleillé, l'ambiance gothique et sombre où règnent mort, vengeance, luxure et un soupçon de surnaturel créé une fracture passionnante. Tous les éléments du gothique sont là mais dans une ville italienne pleine de vie et d'amour. D'ailleurs, l'autrice semble avoir des comptes à régler avec sa patrie d'origine, l'Angleterre, qui en prend pour son grade dans ce roman. Les femmes aussi, à travers la figure de Nina, languide et sublime mais au cœur avide et sec, se jouant des hommes et n'espérant que bijoux, bibelots et marques de convoitise. Point de féminisme ici mais un plaidoyer pour la fidélité, un récit qui semble voir le progrès et la modernité comme les bourreaux de la vertu.
C'est magnifiquement écrit, cette narration d'une vengeance dont on suit chaque étape, c'est tout simplement génial !
C'est une œuvre gothique délicieuse qui nous plonge à Naples, en 1884. Alors que l'épidémie de choléra fait rage, le jeune conte Fabio Romani tombe malade et est enterré... vivant. Une fois sorti de sa sombre demeure, il retrouve avec joie le chemin de sa maison, heureux d'annoncer à sa femme, sa fille et son meilleur ami sa mésaventure, somme toute drôle quand on y réfléchit. Sauf qu'à son arrivée, il se rend compte que sa femme le trompe avec son soi-disant meilleur ami et qu'ils n'éprouvent pas la moindre peine à l'annonce de son décès. Démarre alors pour Fabio une longue et complexe vendetta, une vengeance qui seule pourra apaiser son cœur meurtri.
Dans ce Naples ensoleillé, l'ambiance gothique et sombre où règnent mort, vengeance, luxure et un soupçon de surnaturel créé une fracture passionnante. Tous les éléments du gothique sont là mais dans une ville italienne pleine de vie et d'amour. D'ailleurs, l'autrice semble avoir des comptes à régler avec sa patrie d'origine, l'Angleterre, qui en prend pour son grade dans ce roman. Les femmes aussi, à travers la figure de Nina, languide et sublime mais au cœur avide et sec, se jouant des hommes et n'espérant que bijoux, bibelots et marques de convoitise. Point de féminisme ici mais un plaidoyer pour la fidélité, un récit qui semble voir le progrès et la modernité comme les bourreaux de la vertu.
C'est magnifiquement écrit, cette narration d'une vengeance dont on suit chaque étape, c'est tout simplement génial !
April 9, 2011
What a great story. Wouldn't recommend this book to anyone going through marital problems but would recommend it to anyone else. Fabio and Nina are a young couple with a daughter living in Italy in the 1860s. Fabio gets cholera and dies...or at least they thought so. He is placed in the family above ground crypt quickly because of cholera being so contagious with many dying of the same thing. Yet Fabio revives in a cheap wooden casket not sure what happened. He escapes the casket and the crypt and heads for home anxious to see his wife and daughter. He then discovers he has physically changed. His hair is white and he looks older. He also discovers Nina has been having an affair for quite sometime with his best friend Guido. Fabio now plots his vendetta against Nina and Guido.
That this book was written by a female suprises me in that the main character, Fabio, has very negative thoughts towards all females which the author expresses throughout the book.
This book would make an excellent movie. Enjoyed it very much.
That this book was written by a female suprises me in that the main character, Fabio, has very negative thoughts towards all females which the author expresses throughout the book.
This book would make an excellent movie. Enjoyed it very much.
February 14, 2025
Vendetta de Marie Corelli est un roman classique enfin traduit en français. Surfant sur une ambiance gothique, l’intrigue nous plonge dans une histoire de vengeance made in Italia.
Les premiers chapitres m’ont tout de suite séduite, j’étais prise dans l’intrigue et ses mystères. Mais très vite, le tout m’a semblé rester un peu trop en surface. Les personnages trop superficiels et l’intrigue assez légère ont fini par avoir raison de moi et les derniers chapitres m’ont paru bien longs.
Le style de l’autrice, très descriptif, est un plaisir à lire. Il ajoute un aspect de conte à l’histoire qui se lit plutôt facilement. Le texte fait preuve d’une grande misogynie, poussée à l’extrême, qui était sans doute voulu par l’autrice pour railler le style des auteurs masculins de son époque. Le tout est un peu lourd à la longue. J’ai surtout été déçue de la vengeance du personnage principal, cœur de l’intrigue, qui m’a semblé assez tiède.
Un livre intéressant à lire, mais je n’en garderai pas beaucoup de souvenirs. L’inspiration du Comte de Monte-Cristo de Dumas est largement palpable, mais sans la satisfaction d’une vengeance bien assouvie.
Les premiers chapitres m’ont tout de suite séduite, j’étais prise dans l’intrigue et ses mystères. Mais très vite, le tout m’a semblé rester un peu trop en surface. Les personnages trop superficiels et l’intrigue assez légère ont fini par avoir raison de moi et les derniers chapitres m’ont paru bien longs.
Le style de l’autrice, très descriptif, est un plaisir à lire. Il ajoute un aspect de conte à l’histoire qui se lit plutôt facilement. Le texte fait preuve d’une grande misogynie, poussée à l’extrême, qui était sans doute voulu par l’autrice pour railler le style des auteurs masculins de son époque. Le tout est un peu lourd à la longue. J’ai surtout été déçue de la vengeance du personnage principal, cœur de l’intrigue, qui m’a semblé assez tiède.
Un livre intéressant à lire, mais je n’en garderai pas beaucoup de souvenirs. L’inspiration du Comte de Monte-Cristo de Dumas est largement palpable, mais sans la satisfaction d’une vengeance bien assouvie.
February 1, 2009
Marie Corelli is the Pen Name of Mary Mackay (U.K., May 1st, 1855 – April 21st 1924). After her first book, “A Romance in Two Worlds”, started to get noticed, her second book was being published. “Vendetta! Or The Story Of One Forgotten” is her second novel, and was published originally late in the year 1886. Unlike her first novel, this one makes no pretence of being true, nor does it push her religious beliefs the way her first book did.
This story opens with a bang, so to speak, as the narrator announces that he is dead. Of course, he really isn’t dead, but the reader is quickly interested in learning the story. It is that of Count Fabio Romani, a nobleman in Naples who was stricken with Cholera and appeared to have died, so much so that he is buried. From there, he has to fight to escape his coffin and his tomb, but before he does the latter, he discovers a great amount of riches have been stored in his family tomb, presumably by a famous thief, Carmelo Neri.
He naively believes he will return to his previous life, having been buried only one day, but that soon proves to be impossible. For one thing, his appearance is greatly changed; his hair has turned white, and his face appears thin and sick, not surprisingly considering how ill he was. However, the main obstacle proves to be his friend, Guido Ferrari, and his wife, Nina, neither of who are morning his death, but rather looking forward to being open about their love for each other, after a respectful morning period, of course. Fabio overhears this when approaching his house, and at that point he decides to get revenge.
The vast majority of the book covers his preparation and the details of his actually taking revenge on his former friend and his unfaithful wife. Count Romani never gives the reader the full details of his plan prior to its execution, so the reader gets to guess at the direction it will go, though that is not so difficult. The Count takes on the name Count Cesare Oliva, and claims to be an old family friend of the Romani’s who is returning to Naples. From there he can try to gain the trust of Guido Ferrari, and the eye of his former wife.
Marie Corelli’s writing is unusual, and very wordy. For that reason, I think that some may find this book far too slow in its pace. She writes paragraphs which go on for more than a page, and provides very a very detailed telling of the story. This actually worked for me though, because I found it interesting, and I think it works as well because it shows the narrators obsession with getting his revenge. As he moves forward with the execution of his plan, those whom he still loves are injured and killed, which would not be the case if he exacted his revenge quickly. Overall, this is between three and four stars, and due to its style being somewhat old I am rounding it down to three, because I feel that many modern readers will lose patience in the reading.
This story opens with a bang, so to speak, as the narrator announces that he is dead. Of course, he really isn’t dead, but the reader is quickly interested in learning the story. It is that of Count Fabio Romani, a nobleman in Naples who was stricken with Cholera and appeared to have died, so much so that he is buried. From there, he has to fight to escape his coffin and his tomb, but before he does the latter, he discovers a great amount of riches have been stored in his family tomb, presumably by a famous thief, Carmelo Neri.
He naively believes he will return to his previous life, having been buried only one day, but that soon proves to be impossible. For one thing, his appearance is greatly changed; his hair has turned white, and his face appears thin and sick, not surprisingly considering how ill he was. However, the main obstacle proves to be his friend, Guido Ferrari, and his wife, Nina, neither of who are morning his death, but rather looking forward to being open about their love for each other, after a respectful morning period, of course. Fabio overhears this when approaching his house, and at that point he decides to get revenge.
The vast majority of the book covers his preparation and the details of his actually taking revenge on his former friend and his unfaithful wife. Count Romani never gives the reader the full details of his plan prior to its execution, so the reader gets to guess at the direction it will go, though that is not so difficult. The Count takes on the name Count Cesare Oliva, and claims to be an old family friend of the Romani’s who is returning to Naples. From there he can try to gain the trust of Guido Ferrari, and the eye of his former wife.
Marie Corelli’s writing is unusual, and very wordy. For that reason, I think that some may find this book far too slow in its pace. She writes paragraphs which go on for more than a page, and provides very a very detailed telling of the story. This actually worked for me though, because I found it interesting, and I think it works as well because it shows the narrators obsession with getting his revenge. As he moves forward with the execution of his plan, those whom he still loves are injured and killed, which would not be the case if he exacted his revenge quickly. Overall, this is between three and four stars, and due to its style being somewhat old I am rounding it down to three, because I feel that many modern readers will lose patience in the reading.
March 6, 2016
This was a very depressing Gothic horror without any of the supernatural elements of Gothic storytelling. The story starts with a young rich nobleman, happily married with a charming daughter. He tries to help a boy with the plague and wakes up in a coffin in his family vault. The book then becomes focused on his revenge on his wife, who was having an affair. It is rather depressing, and his motives, rather ludicrous. He does seem more upset that his wife didn't actually love him, and was "false" than because of the affair with the other gentleman. I think if a man had written this it would have been appaling misogynistic crap. But coming from Marie Corelli's perspective it was quite entertaining. Not her best, or her worst, but worth reading.
June 18, 2014
Marie Corelli has been one of my favourite authors since I read The Sorrows Of Satan, and which I have re-read few times over the last few years. In Vendetta or the Story of One Forgotten, she uses the same style, morbid, desperate, dark. And yet, I could not help, but to feel a ray of hope throughout the whole book, hoping that the story eventually will carry a happy ending, or at least it will bring a relief to the main character in some way. I like how she described his tormented heart by the betrayal of those he loved most. One can almost feel what it would feel like to be him.
September 2, 2015
Ordinarily, I'd give this one 2 stars but the story was actually good so I'll be nice. I love the story & initially, I loved the language and beautiful writing. But the writing style is too descriptive all the time, with over-flowery language everywhere, it The style was tired, to be honest. The story is nice but reading through it was like hard labour at a point. This is the kind of book I'd only read once.
July 11, 2012
Vendetta is a story of a man who has seen it all. A man who died and came back to life only to find lovers turned to traitors. A man who would give all rich man's gold for justice in return. This book is a great example of how wealth destroys people, how pride destroys one's soul. And finally, how vengeance can be just as ruthless when it comes to forgiveness.
January 30, 2023
Это произведение о мести. Меня очень сильно привлекают книги и фильмы с такой тематикой, так что я сразу схватилась за неё. Я не была знакома с автором, но её слог и мастерское обращение с героями настолько меня восхитили, что теперь планирую прочитать все её книги; сначала, конечно, «Скорбь Сатаны».
Это нескучная классика, как говорится. Такую классику я люблю. Сюжет держит внимание до последней страницы. Было очень интересно узнать, что же придумает граф, чтобы отомстить предателям.
Я советую историю для осенних, холодных и мрачных вечеров. 🤭
Это нескучная классика, как говорится. Такую классику я люблю. Сюжет держит внимание до последней страницы. Было очень интересно узнать, что же придумает граф, чтобы отомстить предателям.
Я советую историю для осенних, холодных и мрачных вечеров. 🤭
November 14, 2024
Une vengeance un peu tiède
January 1, 2025
Ça se lit très bien
Mais c’est vraiment plaqué sur Monte Cristo par contre donc bon en lire un m’avait suffit 😭 (t’as la tromperie, t’as la sois disant mort, t’as la découverte d’un grand trésor, t’as la prise d’une nouvelle identité, t’as la vengeance, t’as le duel, etc.)
Ce qui est cool c’est que c’est une meuf qui l’a écrit et qu’apparemment ça a été un des premiers livres considérés comme un best-seller so go woman
C’est hyper misogyne et même si c’est à lire comme une critique (genre elle pousse la misogynie à l’excès pour se moquer un peu de celles des autres écrivains de son temps) bah je préfère quand même lire des histoires pas misogynes 😭 pcq du coup j’avais pas d’empathie pour la meuf, pas d’empathie pour les mecs, donc j’étais pas du tout engagée émotionnellement dans la vengeance mdrrr alors qu’au moins avec Dumas j’avais quand même envie de savoir comment elle allait finir cette vengeance
Bref contente d’avoir découvert ce classique mais pas pour moi !
Mais c’est vraiment plaqué sur Monte Cristo par contre donc bon en lire un m’avait suffit 😭 (t’as la tromperie, t’as la sois disant mort, t’as la découverte d’un grand trésor, t’as la prise d’une nouvelle identité, t’as la vengeance, t’as le duel, etc.)
Ce qui est cool c’est que c’est une meuf qui l’a écrit et qu’apparemment ça a été un des premiers livres considérés comme un best-seller so go woman
C’est hyper misogyne et même si c’est à lire comme une critique (genre elle pousse la misogynie à l’excès pour se moquer un peu de celles des autres écrivains de son temps) bah je préfère quand même lire des histoires pas misogynes 😭 pcq du coup j’avais pas d’empathie pour la meuf, pas d’empathie pour les mecs, donc j’étais pas du tout engagée émotionnellement dans la vengeance mdrrr alors qu’au moins avec Dumas j’avais quand même envie de savoir comment elle allait finir cette vengeance
Bref contente d’avoir découvert ce classique mais pas pour moi !
September 12, 2015
Marie Corelli’s Vendetta: The Story of One Forgotten portrays marriage and human relationship with “with a satirical smile”, a salty style and a touch of mysticism. It is also a satire of humanity, showing the (innate) likelihood of man to become hypocritical and hostile to his destruction and the destruction of others. In this novel, marriage seems “a mere comedietta”, while life is depicted as “a glittering whirlpool of excitement and feverish folly, which at mere touch, or word out of season, might rise to a raging storm of frothy dissension.”
In the clime of cholera, Count Fabio Romani (later Count Cesare Oliva), “the most moral man in the immoral Naples”, returns from his grave, and discovers the infidelity of his wife, Nina (“flawless diamond-peal of pure womanhood”), with his best friend, Guido Ferrari. This discovery drives the plot on a revenge route to a tragic end.
Although this is a beautifully written novel, it is pertinent to note that the characterness of the characters seems to be on the edge of extremity: either too good or too bad. Also, the story seems to be a misogynist’s mirror of the world; although the author is female, she seems to present almost a pessimistic perception of women. Aside that, this is one of the greatest revenge stories I have read, and Corelli is an awesome writer.
In the clime of cholera, Count Fabio Romani (later Count Cesare Oliva), “the most moral man in the immoral Naples”, returns from his grave, and discovers the infidelity of his wife, Nina (“flawless diamond-peal of pure womanhood”), with his best friend, Guido Ferrari. This discovery drives the plot on a revenge route to a tragic end.
Although this is a beautifully written novel, it is pertinent to note that the characterness of the characters seems to be on the edge of extremity: either too good or too bad. Also, the story seems to be a misogynist’s mirror of the world; although the author is female, she seems to present almost a pessimistic perception of women. Aside that, this is one of the greatest revenge stories I have read, and Corelli is an awesome writer.
February 28, 2014
I found an old copy of this book at an estate sale and decided to take a chance on something that sounded reminiscent of The Count of Monte Christo...and that is pretty much what I got, if The Count of Monte Christo were written by a tabloid.
This book mirrors The Count of Monte Christo in many ways. Husband, rather than fiance, "dies," finds untold riches belonging to an infamous bandit, and comes back to his wife only to find that she's been having an affair with his best friend. He's shattered and decides to have his revenge.
Where Dumas goes into great detail connecting members of society and shading the levels of malice, guilt, complicity, indifference, and regret of those who wronged Dantes, Corelli keeps everything black and white. The wife is a greedy whore, his best friend knowingly and willingly took advantage of him. There are no redeeming qualities.
Where Dantes learns to overcome his hate and desire for vengeance, and is redeemed, Fabio shows no mercy and maintains his bitterness.
There are several twists and turns in Vendetta, and several parts that are quite far-fetched, but overall it's a very predictable and short read.
If you have an afternoon to read and want entertainment that doesn't require thought, give Vendetta a try.
This book mirrors The Count of Monte Christo in many ways. Husband, rather than fiance, "dies," finds untold riches belonging to an infamous bandit, and comes back to his wife only to find that she's been having an affair with his best friend. He's shattered and decides to have his revenge.
Where Dumas goes into great detail connecting members of society and shading the levels of malice, guilt, complicity, indifference, and regret of those who wronged Dantes, Corelli keeps everything black and white. The wife is a greedy whore, his best friend knowingly and willingly took advantage of him. There are no redeeming qualities.
Where Dantes learns to overcome his hate and desire for vengeance, and is redeemed, Fabio shows no mercy and maintains his bitterness.
There are several twists and turns in Vendetta, and several parts that are quite far-fetched, but overall it's a very predictable and short read.
If you have an afternoon to read and want entertainment that doesn't require thought, give Vendetta a try.
July 31, 2012
The story of one forgotten takes place in Italy during the final years of the 19th century. A time when people started 'evolving' and losing their sense of honor and dignity. A time where many had decided to spare themselves the dishonor caused by such "treacherous creatures as women". Fabio was one of those who avoided women until he had meant whom he though was the most beautiful and innocent-looking creature. But only three years after he had married her did he discover her true colors and all the treachery she was responsible of. For from that moment on, Fabio promised vengeance upon his unfaithful wife and a vendetta towards those connected with his dishonor.
As the course of the story moves on, I notice Fabio's hatred and revolt towards women grow back rapidly. And upon every insult that was directed towards the female sex, I find it hard to believe that Marie Corelli wrote this, whom I found out was branded a 'man-hater' during her times, which makes this piece a whole lot more interesting.
"Revenge is sweet! -but who shall paint the horrors of memory? My vengeance now recoils upon my own head."
As the course of the story moves on, I notice Fabio's hatred and revolt towards women grow back rapidly. And upon every insult that was directed towards the female sex, I find it hard to believe that Marie Corelli wrote this, whom I found out was branded a 'man-hater' during her times, which makes this piece a whole lot more interesting.
"Revenge is sweet! -but who shall paint the horrors of memory? My vengeance now recoils upon my own head."
October 4, 2012
This book wasn't what I thought it was. It was better.
January 18, 2014
I don't think I'll ever forget this book. Or the day I finished it.
July 18, 2022
If the Count of Monte Cristo was more melodramatic and written by a misogynist this would be it.
April 14, 2018
เรื่องนี้เคยสร้างเป็นละครและเป็นภาพยนตร์หลายเวอร์ชันมาก เพิ่งได้มาอ่านหนังสือ ชอบวิธีการแก้แค้นแบบนี้มาก ^_^
October 19, 2022
"Vendetta!" is my second Marie Corelli novel and it certainly is not an unforgettable story. This story of revenge for a wrong is quite different than my last two "Vendetta" reads; Balzac's "Vendetta" is about a feud between to families; Guy de Maupassant's "Vendetta" is a mother's revenge concerning her son. Corelli goes a different direction, the husband that has been doubly wronged. I cannot get this story out of my mind, thinking about the religious and social aspect. The world sadly is so different in something especially fidelity in marriage and in general outlook of sexual relationships and propriety. Dimishing Religious sentiment and faith, I am sure have brought about the acceptance of the modern world. Divorce is exponentially more prevalent then over century before and looking at this story with modern eyes does not fair well for the husband being betrayed. One thing that is quite evident for past and future, stepping into a marriage or relationship one needs to keep one's eyes open. A martial mistake is something that will effect a person that today can be changed, yet it can have some long lasting effects. It is hard to know how things will work out but knowing the qualities in a spouse that promote harmony and happiness and not just the first reaction of the person but not going for the glossy exterior looks or behavior. This story has a horror and supernatural element which adds to the suspense.
Story in short- Fabio Romani is the happiest of men until he is deemed dead and buried.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert
The below is a synopsis from my Delphi collection of her works included.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4438
The very first title Corelli used for this novel was Buried Alive, but George Bentley, her publisher, suggested the final title of Vendetta! The novel was published in 1886, shortly after the publication of her first novel, A Romance of Two Worlds. The then Prince of Wales was sufficiently intrigued by the second
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4441
novel to request his own copy of the book. It was summarised in a 1903 biography of Corelli (by Coates and Bell) as “an exposition – in the form of a novel – on marital infidelity.” The narrative opens with a melodramatic statement typical of Corelli’s style: “I, who write this, am a dead man.” Writing from the solitude of a South American forest, the narrator, Fabio Romani, tells the reader that he, a Neapolitan aristocrat, fell victim to an illness resembling cholera in his home city in 1884, slipped into a coma which to
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4445
all those who saw him resembled death itself and he was placed in a flimsy coffin and “laid to rest” in the family vault. There he awakes and naturally goes into a blind panic, using all his strength to fight his way out of the coffin. He finds some booty hidden in the vaults by a band of brigands led by the notorious Carmelo Neri and resolves to use the treasure to finance his “resurrection”. Meanwhile, his “widow” carries on life regardless, seemingly unaffected by her loss.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4449
In reality the couple were a poor match from the start; Romani was a rather other-worldly young man, more used to the company of the arts and Guido Ferrari, his dearest male friend; Nina, his bride, whom he married in haste, is younger than him and comes from a family of noble name but poor character; her strict convent education has done nothing to dispel her inherited “bad blood”. From the outset, Nina has the upper hand; Romani can deny her nothing and is her “willing and devoted slave”. Before long
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4452
the couple have a baby and Romani is rather taken aback at Guido’s less than enthusiastic welcome for his newborn daughter, left wondering at the heavy hints of jealousy and betrayal, but unable to connect them with his new and apparently happy life. Only three years after Nina and Romani first meet, cholera comes to Naples; here the back story and the present join together with Romani’s “death”. A shock almost as terrible as being buried alive is about to assail Romani, however. As
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4456
he makes his way back to his home after struggling from the family vault, his appearance much altered by the shock of events, he learns that people are saying unflattering things about his wife’s character. Something in his mind tells him to approach his own home secretly and with caution; whilst hidden in the garden, he is devastated to witness Guido and Nina in a passionate embrace and it is clear that the affair has been going from almost from the start of the marriage. The final blow is to overhear his wife
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4459
say: “I am glad he [Romani] is dead.” Romani is beside himself with grief. When the lovers have moved on, he takes up the crucifix he was buried with and “swore by that sacred symbol never to relent, never to relax, never to rest, till I had brought my vow of just vengeance to its utmost fulfilment”. Romani goes away for a while and on his return he poses as the Conte Cesare Oliva, a wealthy man returning to Naples after a long time away. The stress of his challenges has turned his hair prematurely white
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4463
and on his return to Naples he dons smoked spectacles and is able to pass as a much older man; he befriends his “widow” and her lover as a stranger, a ruse that soon fools them. This is the first act of Romani’s execution of his plans for revenge, but can his plans succeed? In their rather sycophantic biography of Corelli, Coates and Bell describe the skill with which the author depicts Naples and its people and the way she can describe a delightful scene only to knock it down with some dreadful event; a master
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4467
of building suspense. As the biographers point out, it is a familiar story she tells in this novel, that of marital infidelity and one which she reinforces throughout the novel with various similar anecdotes about murdered cheating wives and cuckolded husbands. This is a much better paced story than Corelli’s first novel, perhaps because there is a welcome absence of the many esoteric discourses found in Romance of Two Worlds. Some scenes are very well written; the account of Romani fighting
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4471
his way in sheer panic out of his own coffin is convincing and suggests that Corelli could have been an accomplished writer of adventure stories if she had been so inclined. The suspense is maintained our desire to
find out if and how Romani is able to exact revenge. Vendetta! is an accomplished novel, which holds its own with many other dramatic romance novels of the late nineteenth century.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4496
Lest those who read the following pages should deem this story at all improbable, it is perhaps necessary to say that its chief incidents are founded on an actual occurrence which took place in Naples during the last scathing visitation of the cholera in 1884. We know well enough, by the chronicle of daily journalism, that the infidelity of wives is, most unhappily, becoming common — far too common for the peace and good repute of society. Not so common is an outraged husband’s vengeance — not often dare he take the law into his own hands — for in England, at least, such boldness on his part would doubtless be deemed a worse crime than that by which he personally is doomed to suffer. But in Italy things are on a different footing — the verbosity and red-tape of the law, and the hesitating verdict of special juries, are not there considered sufficiently efficacious to soothe a man’s damaged honor and ruined name. And thus — whether right or wrong
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4503
— it often happens that strange and awful deeds are perpetrated — deeds of which the world in general hears nothing, and which, when brought to light at last, are received with surprise and incredulity. Yet the romances planned by the brain of the novelist or dramatist are poor in comparison with the romances of real life — life wrongly termed commonplace, but which, in fact, teems with tragedies as great and dark and soul-torturing as any devised by Sophocles or Shakespeare.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4506
Nothing is more strange than truth — nothing, at times, more terrible! Marie Corelli. August, 1886.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4509
I, who write this, am a dead man. Dead legally — dead by absolute proofs — dead and buried! Ask for me in my native city and they will tell you I was one of the victims of the cholera that ravaged Naples in 1884, and that my mortal remains lie moldering in the funeral vault of my ancestors. Yet — I live! I feel the warm blood coursing through my veins — the blood of thirty summers — the prime of early manhood invigorates me,
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4517
I answer none of them. I did so once. I told my story to a man I met by chance — one renowned for medical skill and kindliness. He heard me to the end in evident incredulity and alarm, and hinted at the possibility of madness. Since then I have never spoken.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4524
Dead, and yet living! How can that be? — you ask. Ah, my friends! If you seek to be rid of your dead relations for a certainty, you should have their bodies cremated. Otherwise there is no knowing what may happen! Cremation is the best way — the only way. It is clean, and safe. Why should there be any prejudice against it? Surely it is better to give the remains of what we loved (or pretended to love) to cleansing fire and pure air than to lay them in a cold vault of stone, or down, down in the wet and clinging earth.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4540
But let me to my task. I, Fabio Romani, lately deceased, am about to chronicle the events of one short year
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4543
One suffering, common to many, I have never known — that is — poverty. I was born rich. When my father, Count Filippo Romani, died, leaving me, then a lad of seventeen, sole heir to his enormous possessions — sole head of his powerful house — there were many candid friends who, with their usual kindness, prophesied the worst things of my future. Nay, there were even some who looked forward to
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4546
my physical and mental destruction with a certain degree of malignant expectation — and they were estimable persons too. They were respectably connected — their words carried weight — and for a time I was an object of their maliciously pious fears. I was destined, according to their calculations, to be a gambler, a spendthrift, a drunkard, an incurable roue of the most abandoned character. Yet, strange to say, I became none of these things. Though a Neapolitan, with all the fiery passions and hot blood of my race, I had
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4549
an innate scorn for the contemptible vices and low desires of the unthinking vulgar.
➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗
I had wanted Fabio to be happy but as I read on, it was quite apparent that Nina never loved him and if she loved anyone, Guido came closet because both had a lower set of morals and self absorb desires. The one thing that I wished more than anything is that little Stella had lived. Fabio should have spoken up and had a doctor look after his daughter but he was too concerned about not being found out and his vendetta ruined. Even though he worried about how she would be when she was older, he could have helped direct her. He felt divorce would not suit him and his vengeance was needed especially since less a month into his marriage his wife started to accept advances from a lover. I was disappointed in Guido but even before Nina came around, he was trying to make fun of his friend's ways. What would have happened if Fabio came home and did not see his wife and best friend espousing love? He would have eventually found out and maybe another child that would not be his. I was hoping that Lilla would be his but that really did not make sense, it was too early and his wife and vengeance, was only on his mind. The death of Guido was truly sad because even though Guido had betrayed, Nina started to betray him too. I could not believe, yet I could, that Fabio would let his wife remain alive in the charnel house. The brick killing her had taken that choice away, it seemed clear that she would die. Fabio did not see that his choice in a wife was something that needed more thought than mere passion. His justice is justice unfulfilled, yes they died but what was left in his dealing with his hurt and troubled mind. If he had divorced or just had her move away, he could have possibly had a fairly good life. I am hoping that he softens, since he is young and find a good woman that will help heal and strengthen his ability to forgive. The killing of a spouse is indeed wrong and it is up to God to fulfill it, as he did in the end.
Story in short- Fabio Romani is the happiest of men until he is deemed dead and buried.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert
The below is a synopsis from my Delphi collection of her works included.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4438
The very first title Corelli used for this novel was Buried Alive, but George Bentley, her publisher, suggested the final title of Vendetta! The novel was published in 1886, shortly after the publication of her first novel, A Romance of Two Worlds. The then Prince of Wales was sufficiently intrigued by the second
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4441
novel to request his own copy of the book. It was summarised in a 1903 biography of Corelli (by Coates and Bell) as “an exposition – in the form of a novel – on marital infidelity.” The narrative opens with a melodramatic statement typical of Corelli’s style: “I, who write this, am a dead man.” Writing from the solitude of a South American forest, the narrator, Fabio Romani, tells the reader that he, a Neapolitan aristocrat, fell victim to an illness resembling cholera in his home city in 1884, slipped into a coma which to
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4445
all those who saw him resembled death itself and he was placed in a flimsy coffin and “laid to rest” in the family vault. There he awakes and naturally goes into a blind panic, using all his strength to fight his way out of the coffin. He finds some booty hidden in the vaults by a band of brigands led by the notorious Carmelo Neri and resolves to use the treasure to finance his “resurrection”. Meanwhile, his “widow” carries on life regardless, seemingly unaffected by her loss.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4449
In reality the couple were a poor match from the start; Romani was a rather other-worldly young man, more used to the company of the arts and Guido Ferrari, his dearest male friend; Nina, his bride, whom he married in haste, is younger than him and comes from a family of noble name but poor character; her strict convent education has done nothing to dispel her inherited “bad blood”. From the outset, Nina has the upper hand; Romani can deny her nothing and is her “willing and devoted slave”. Before long
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4452
the couple have a baby and Romani is rather taken aback at Guido’s less than enthusiastic welcome for his newborn daughter, left wondering at the heavy hints of jealousy and betrayal, but unable to connect them with his new and apparently happy life. Only three years after Nina and Romani first meet, cholera comes to Naples; here the back story and the present join together with Romani’s “death”. A shock almost as terrible as being buried alive is about to assail Romani, however. As
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4456
he makes his way back to his home after struggling from the family vault, his appearance much altered by the shock of events, he learns that people are saying unflattering things about his wife’s character. Something in his mind tells him to approach his own home secretly and with caution; whilst hidden in the garden, he is devastated to witness Guido and Nina in a passionate embrace and it is clear that the affair has been going from almost from the start of the marriage. The final blow is to overhear his wife
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4459
say: “I am glad he [Romani] is dead.” Romani is beside himself with grief. When the lovers have moved on, he takes up the crucifix he was buried with and “swore by that sacred symbol never to relent, never to relax, never to rest, till I had brought my vow of just vengeance to its utmost fulfilment”. Romani goes away for a while and on his return he poses as the Conte Cesare Oliva, a wealthy man returning to Naples after a long time away. The stress of his challenges has turned his hair prematurely white
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4463
and on his return to Naples he dons smoked spectacles and is able to pass as a much older man; he befriends his “widow” and her lover as a stranger, a ruse that soon fools them. This is the first act of Romani’s execution of his plans for revenge, but can his plans succeed? In their rather sycophantic biography of Corelli, Coates and Bell describe the skill with which the author depicts Naples and its people and the way she can describe a delightful scene only to knock it down with some dreadful event; a master
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4467
of building suspense. As the biographers point out, it is a familiar story she tells in this novel, that of marital infidelity and one which she reinforces throughout the novel with various similar anecdotes about murdered cheating wives and cuckolded husbands. This is a much better paced story than Corelli’s first novel, perhaps because there is a welcome absence of the many esoteric discourses found in Romance of Two Worlds. Some scenes are very well written; the account of Romani fighting
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4471
his way in sheer panic out of his own coffin is convincing and suggests that Corelli could have been an accomplished writer of adventure stories if she had been so inclined. The suspense is maintained our desire to
find out if and how Romani is able to exact revenge. Vendetta! is an accomplished novel, which holds its own with many other dramatic romance novels of the late nineteenth century.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4496
Lest those who read the following pages should deem this story at all improbable, it is perhaps necessary to say that its chief incidents are founded on an actual occurrence which took place in Naples during the last scathing visitation of the cholera in 1884. We know well enough, by the chronicle of daily journalism, that the infidelity of wives is, most unhappily, becoming common — far too common for the peace and good repute of society. Not so common is an outraged husband’s vengeance — not often dare he take the law into his own hands — for in England, at least, such boldness on his part would doubtless be deemed a worse crime than that by which he personally is doomed to suffer. But in Italy things are on a different footing — the verbosity and red-tape of the law, and the hesitating verdict of special juries, are not there considered sufficiently efficacious to soothe a man’s damaged honor and ruined name. And thus — whether right or wrong
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4503
— it often happens that strange and awful deeds are perpetrated — deeds of which the world in general hears nothing, and which, when brought to light at last, are received with surprise and incredulity. Yet the romances planned by the brain of the novelist or dramatist are poor in comparison with the romances of real life — life wrongly termed commonplace, but which, in fact, teems with tragedies as great and dark and soul-torturing as any devised by Sophocles or Shakespeare.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4506
Nothing is more strange than truth — nothing, at times, more terrible! Marie Corelli. August, 1886.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4509
I, who write this, am a dead man. Dead legally — dead by absolute proofs — dead and buried! Ask for me in my native city and they will tell you I was one of the victims of the cholera that ravaged Naples in 1884, and that my mortal remains lie moldering in the funeral vault of my ancestors. Yet — I live! I feel the warm blood coursing through my veins — the blood of thirty summers — the prime of early manhood invigorates me,
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4517
I answer none of them. I did so once. I told my story to a man I met by chance — one renowned for medical skill and kindliness. He heard me to the end in evident incredulity and alarm, and hinted at the possibility of madness. Since then I have never spoken.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4524
Dead, and yet living! How can that be? — you ask. Ah, my friends! If you seek to be rid of your dead relations for a certainty, you should have their bodies cremated. Otherwise there is no knowing what may happen! Cremation is the best way — the only way. It is clean, and safe. Why should there be any prejudice against it? Surely it is better to give the remains of what we loved (or pretended to love) to cleansing fire and pure air than to lay them in a cold vault of stone, or down, down in the wet and clinging earth.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4540
But let me to my task. I, Fabio Romani, lately deceased, am about to chronicle the events of one short year
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4543
One suffering, common to many, I have never known — that is — poverty. I was born rich. When my father, Count Filippo Romani, died, leaving me, then a lad of seventeen, sole heir to his enormous possessions — sole head of his powerful house — there were many candid friends who, with their usual kindness, prophesied the worst things of my future. Nay, there were even some who looked forward to
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4546
my physical and mental destruction with a certain degree of malignant expectation — and they were estimable persons too. They were respectably connected — their words carried weight — and for a time I was an object of their maliciously pious fears. I was destined, according to their calculations, to be a gambler, a spendthrift, a drunkard, an incurable roue of the most abandoned character. Yet, strange to say, I became none of these things. Though a Neapolitan, with all the fiery passions and hot blood of my race, I had
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 4549
an innate scorn for the contemptible vices and low desires of the unthinking vulgar.
➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗➗
I had wanted Fabio to be happy but as I read on, it was quite apparent that Nina never loved him and if she loved anyone, Guido came closet because both had a lower set of morals and self absorb desires. The one thing that I wished more than anything is that little Stella had lived. Fabio should have spoken up and had a doctor look after his daughter but he was too concerned about not being found out and his vendetta ruined. Even though he worried about how she would be when she was older, he could have helped direct her. He felt divorce would not suit him and his vengeance was needed especially since less a month into his marriage his wife started to accept advances from a lover. I was disappointed in Guido but even before Nina came around, he was trying to make fun of his friend's ways. What would have happened if Fabio came home and did not see his wife and best friend espousing love? He would have eventually found out and maybe another child that would not be his. I was hoping that Lilla would be his but that really did not make sense, it was too early and his wife and vengeance, was only on his mind. The death of Guido was truly sad because even though Guido had betrayed, Nina started to betray him too. I could not believe, yet I could, that Fabio would let his wife remain alive in the charnel house. The brick killing her had taken that choice away, it seemed clear that she would die. Fabio did not see that his choice in a wife was something that needed more thought than mere passion. His justice is justice unfulfilled, yes they died but what was left in his dealing with his hurt and troubled mind. If he had divorced or just had her move away, he could have possibly had a fairly good life. I am hoping that he softens, since he is young and find a good woman that will help heal and strengthen his ability to forgive. The killing of a spouse is indeed wrong and it is up to God to fulfill it, as he did in the end.
June 26, 2012
Marie Corelli draws the reader into her novel from the very first line “I, who write this, am a dead man”. Once you are hooked, the novel rarely loosens its grip. In the overblown style of the florid 19th-century novel, yet dealing with a situation as old as mankind—an unfaithful wife, the naïve husband and her treacherous lover—we are presented with a ripping, old-fashioned tale of steamy romance, betrayal, hot-blooded passion and coldly served-up revenge.
Grandiose in tone and sweeping in its melodramatic style, I found myself shivering at the depths of Fabio Romani’s hatred while on tenterhooks to see what form his vengeance would take. However, there is a kind of awkwardness in Fabio’s character, given the protagonist’s initial indifference toward the fairer sex and then his absolute scorn towards them (couldn’t the author have achieved a happy middle ground?). Also, certain ideas that register as politically incorrect to modern sensibilities litter this novel: male chauvinism, class snobbery, territorial pride, Anglophobia, disdain for the law all hold sway. In particular, misogyny is rampant in this novel, so much so that it’s hard to believe that it was written by a woman.
These flaws can be dismissed since they are a reflection of the tenor of the times. The real problem with this story is that it lacks any discernible sense of humor, even when minor characters float in and out and occasionally leaven the story with a certain lightness. These minor characters provide help for Fabio Romani but they’re not enough to lighten the deadly soul-tearing, teeth gnashing that permeates the novel.
All these aside, Marie Corelli managed to capture the spirit of an age, the beauty, sordidness, fascination and multi-faceted aspects of Italian society while giving readers a story reminiscent of Alexandre Dumas père and Edgar Allan Poe while brooding on the ultimately crippling nature of revenge.
Grandiose in tone and sweeping in its melodramatic style, I found myself shivering at the depths of Fabio Romani’s hatred while on tenterhooks to see what form his vengeance would take. However, there is a kind of awkwardness in Fabio’s character, given the protagonist’s initial indifference toward the fairer sex and then his absolute scorn towards them (couldn’t the author have achieved a happy middle ground?). Also, certain ideas that register as politically incorrect to modern sensibilities litter this novel: male chauvinism, class snobbery, territorial pride, Anglophobia, disdain for the law all hold sway. In particular, misogyny is rampant in this novel, so much so that it’s hard to believe that it was written by a woman.
These flaws can be dismissed since they are a reflection of the tenor of the times. The real problem with this story is that it lacks any discernible sense of humor, even when minor characters float in and out and occasionally leaven the story with a certain lightness. These minor characters provide help for Fabio Romani but they’re not enough to lighten the deadly soul-tearing, teeth gnashing that permeates the novel.
All these aside, Marie Corelli managed to capture the spirit of an age, the beauty, sordidness, fascination and multi-faceted aspects of Italian society while giving readers a story reminiscent of Alexandre Dumas père and Edgar Allan Poe while brooding on the ultimately crippling nature of revenge.
November 13, 2018
I had previously read Sorrows of Satan by the same author and had loved it- a major part of the reason why I picked this book. However , this one disappoints. The basic plot is about a man seeking , planning and carrying out his revenge against his cheating wife and her lover , who happens to be his closest friend. A prosaic enough premise - the author manages to make the execution duller. The execution is boringly linear and the all the major characters are uni dimensional. The protagonist is an embodiment of all virtues - his only fault - he is too trusting. The cheating wife is vain and incredibly selfish. These two qualities and her beauty are all that define her. Similarly , her lover is shallow and talent less- there is nothing else about him. Deus ex Machinas abound. We are not told how the protagonist survives a deadly disease - not only survives but gets better in one night! The only mark of the disease - white hair- which is very convenient for the execution of his revenge. He stumbles upon a brigands hidden treasure , which is hidden , of all places in the same vault as the protagonist, presumed dead , is buried. Later in the book , the brigand is conveniently caught and executed by the authorities. Important incidents are just convenient stepping stones for the plot. The protagonists random musings are long drawn and boring -to the extent that you lose all sympathy for him. And the misogyny in the book!!! I can only hope the author was being ironical here- merely censuring the shallowness of some high society women in that age or sort of giving us a glimpse of how society , in her time , viewed women. Otherwise , I found the almost virulent misogyny in the book difficult to reconcile with the fact that it was penned by a woman.Overall a boring and disappointing read.
June 23, 2012
Over the top is just business as usual for Corelli, queen of the Victorian bestseller. A young Neapolitan nobleman, believed to be dead of cholera, awakes in his grave. Luckily, he is interred in the family mausoleum, so he escapes and returns home . . . only to discover, before he reveals himself, that his wife and his best friend have been having an affair. He spends the remainder of the novel planning his vengeance.
There's a lot of misogynist rhetoric in the text, though the men behave just as badly. There are some overt tearjerking scenes where I knew I was being manipulated and I misted up anyway. It's not as much fun as Corelli's The Sorrows of Satan, but I'm not sure anything *can* be that much fun.
There's a lot of misogynist rhetoric in the text, though the men behave just as badly. There are some overt tearjerking scenes where I knew I was being manipulated and I misted up anyway. It's not as much fun as Corelli's The Sorrows of Satan, but I'm not sure anything *can* be that much fun.
November 23, 2013
Betrayal leaves a very bitter taste that breeds hate and vengeance a sour and even more blinding bitter taste. The story relates deep perspectives on these issues that has confronted and will continue to confront as long as relationships remains an integral part of human existence.
I consider it that the writer brings to light the fruitless gratification that results when vengeance is sought at all cost. Consider the outcome if Fabio Romani had taken his mysterious treasure reward that mysteriously graced his mystery rise from death; and on discovering Nina's infidelity and Guido's betrayal gotten rid of them for fate to have it's course. Marie excellently depicted the theme of this story that suited her time.
I consider it that the writer brings to light the fruitless gratification that results when vengeance is sought at all cost. Consider the outcome if Fabio Romani had taken his mysterious treasure reward that mysteriously graced his mystery rise from death; and on discovering Nina's infidelity and Guido's betrayal gotten rid of them for fate to have it's course. Marie excellently depicted the theme of this story that suited her time.
September 3, 2023
One of the only two Maria Corelli books that I have read.
It's a book of friendship lost, trust broken and revenge served frozen.
Kind wealthy Man is mistakenly buried alive only to "return from the dead" the following morning to find that his best friend is (and had been for a long while) his wife's lover.
He leaves them and goes off to plan his revenge and my word; was it sweet!!!
A good and entertaining book.
It's a book of friendship lost, trust broken and revenge served frozen.
Kind wealthy Man is mistakenly buried alive only to "return from the dead" the following morning to find that his best friend is (and had been for a long while) his wife's lover.
He leaves them and goes off to plan his revenge and my word; was it sweet!!!
A good and entertaining book.
February 23, 2012
I liked the book very much. Especially when you imagine the scenes when he is coming out of his grave, and the scene when he finds his friend with his wife at his home after his supposed death. Worth reading once. It brings out the anger and the vendetta in you for the fairer sex of the story. Bitches!!!
September 6, 2012
Utterly ridiculous, unintentionally hilarious Victorian melodrama. Buried Alive! Betrayed! Disguised! Revenge Plotted and Carried Out! And all in the most flowery 'dark and stormy night'-esque prose. Fascinating.
Miss Correli outsold Conan Doyle in her day and was wildly successful. There's no accounting for (Victorian) taste.
Miss Correli outsold Conan Doyle in her day and was wildly successful. There's no accounting for (Victorian) taste.
August 8, 2013
Could have rated 4 stars, but the last 150 pages the pace of the story slows down a bit more than what i would have preferred. But a good read overall. Would'nt expect anything less from a book written by Marie Corelli.
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November 10, 2013A good Victorian read of vengeance.
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November 16, 2013I have read this book almost forty five years ago and it is still fresh in my memory-- very captivating
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