The Betrothed

Alesandro Manzoni's I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) is a great novel. Set during the war torn and plague infected years of early 17th Century Lombardy, the story takes account not only of the dramatic events brought about by the catastrophes of war and plague, but also the simple lives of the people caught up in the death and destruction of the times. We are immediately introduced to our two main characters, Renzo and Lucy, young peasants who are planning to be married. The local parish priest, Father Abbondio, is warned by two ruffians not to perform the marriage on orders of the local nobleman, Don Rodrigo. Father Abbondio is a weak and cowardly man who complies with the orders he has been given. Renzo won't be stopped. He joins with Lucy's mother Agnes to form a plot to fool the padre and get the marriage performed, but they fail and must immediately leave their homes to prevent Don Rodrigo from kidnapping Lucy. Thus the novel begins and takes many twists and turns before the end when we finally find out what happens to Renzo and Lucy.