About the book

At a convivial military supper, Ugo di Savelli is suddenly denounced as a thief by a man who had treated him as a friend only hours before. The accusation turns companions into witnesses and makes his inherited sense of honor helpless against an apparent disgrace. Savelli tells the ensuing story himself, moving through the rivalries, intrigues, and uncertain allegiances of early sixteenth-century Italy. Romance and political danger develop together as he tries to understand the betrayal and regain the position it threatens to destroy. Levett Yeats openly identifies Dumas as a model in his preface, and the novel pursues that tradition of energetic historical adventure. Its central tension is the gap between knowing one's own integrity and persuading a hostile world to acknowledge it.

Honor and reputation
Betrayal and allegiance
Courage under disgrace

Why read it

The abrupt accusation at supper makes the loss of social trust immediate, public, and difficult for the narrator to control.

English D. Appleton and Company edition of 1895

Contents and reading sections

About the book

Why read it

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