The Betrothed

By: Alessandro Manzoni

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

After the jealous tyrant Don Rodrigo foils their wedding, young Lombardian peasants Lucia and Lorenzo must separate and flee for their safety. Their difficult path to matrimony takes place against the turbulent backdrop of the Thirty Years War, where lawlessness and exploitation are at their height. Lucia takes refuge in a convent, where she is later abducted and taken on a nightmarish journey to a sinister castle, while Lorenzo goes to Milan, where he witnesses famine, riots, and plague - all evoked through meticulous description and with stunning immediacy. The Betrothed is a masterful example of historical fiction and remains one of the most famous novels in Italian literature.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2019 Naxos Audiobooks

Masterpiece

I am grateful to have discovered this excellent narration of this outstanding classic. I hope to revisit this in the future.

Amazing. And it’s even better if you’re Catholic

They say you need to be Russian to fully grasp Dostoyevsky, and I think they’re right. While you needn’t be Catholic to enjoy The Betrothed, sharing that mindset means you find not only enjoyment in the book, but a 25-hour reminder of the transcendent beauty and day-to-day utility of the Faith.

Here we have the wealth of vivid characters, the rambling, detouring plot, and the moral outlook of Dickens. But where Dickens appeals to a highly personal sense of religious rectitude, Manzoni’s characters—the good, the bad and the indifferent—all share the common background of Catholicism. Thus, appeals to right conduct aren’t made out of an abstract, sentimental sense of the right, but from an objective, almost tangible, shared understanding of what is right. That’s why, every time we indulge our all-too-human reactions to characters and events (hatred, envy, despair) we are recalled to the proper perspective (forgiveness, charity, hope)—as often as not by Lucia or her mother Agnese as by Father Cristoforo or Cardinal Borromeo.

Nicholas Boulton turns in his usual, superb performance. He doesn’t just read books; he has a way of putting them on, like clothes, and living out the story from within it.

Perhaps the Best Novel Ever Written was Wonderfully Performed!

The author was deliciously witty, insightful, deeply spiritual without being preachy—a wonderful novel indeed! And the performance by the reader? Impeccable! Deserves an Emmy.

A Masterpiece

I can’t believe I didn’t know about this book! My former exchange student who is Italian and now lives in Milan recommended to me because of the parts about the plague. The story, the eloquent descriptions, the timeless lessons about human nature ... this book was such a delight that I didn’t want it to end ! A real treasure for the ages.

Captivating!

Powers in life put onto pages describe people, government, and church at a special time in Italy's history.

Fantastic. Inspiring. Wonderful.

Beautiful story. Highly entertaining but also inspiring glimpse into human relationships. I found the performance very engaging, well done!

Fantastic reading of a great work of literature

This was not my first reading of this great work of world literature, but in the present rendition it comes alive in a completely new way. The moving and exciting plot as lived out in the wonderful variety of characters of this story becomes almost like a play, as the Nicholas Boulton is able to enter into them, and adapt his tone and even dialect to the person speaking. I find him one of the best performers on Audible yet, and that is after many years of being a member.
I had hoped for a long time that Audible would make this book available, and with this recent publication my hopes were fulfilled, and my expectations greatly exceeded.

Best 19th C. novel? Incredibly timely in 2022

First, the plot is wonderful, moving us along through the trials of the two young people. But what makes the novel so memorable are these elements: great characters (including a saintly Capuchin friar), historical passages that are well wrought, and a lively satire that keeps things from becoming sentimental. (The author has a great understanding of human nature and the foibles of a society that seems so 21st c.!) The description of the plague in Milan is moving.

wonderful!

I really loved this book. I had never heard of it before Anothony Esolen mentioned it in a lecture. It was highly recommended by him and I'm so glad he did! A beautiful story. The writing is wonderful and the reader is brilliant. get it!

Wonderful!

Listen to this whole thing. It’s as good as they say it is. Loved it.