The Cardinal's snuff-box

About the book

Peter Marchdale rents a villa in Lombardy and discovers that his landlady is the Duchessa di Santangiolo, a woman whose appearance already has an extraordinary hold on his imagination. Their first conversation across a stream turns landscape appreciation into playful verbal fencing. Peter soon neglects his writing in favor of opportunities to see her, while the duchess makes inquiries of her own about her puzzling English tenant. Harland builds the romance through conversation, mistaken impressions, letters, and the small interventions of other people. The Italian gardens and mountain views supply an inviting setting, but the central pleasure lies in watching clever speakers attempt to conceal feelings that repeatedly escape their control. Questions of affection and belief gradually become personal rather than decorative subjects for their wit.

• Courtship and conversation
• Imagination and recognition
• Affection and belief

Why read it

Peter's exchanges with both the duchess and his housekeeper make romantic uncertainty lively, comic, and sharply conversational.

English text of Henry Harland's novel