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Article: Gabriele D'Annunzio: Defiant Archangel.(Review)
- Article from:
- The Modern Language Review
- Article date:
- April 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Modern Humanities Research Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Gabriele D'Annunzio: Defiant Archangel. By JOHN WOODHOUSE. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1998. xii + 406 pp. 25 [pounds sterling].
Was there ever a character more disreputable, deceitful, and despicable than Gabriele D'Annunzio? Possibly there was, though it is difficult to think of anyone who fits the description so exactly except in the pages of fiction. The obvious example that springs to mind is Ser Cepperello, described by Boccaccio as perhaps the worst man ever born, the essential difference between the two being that unlike D'Annunzio, Cepperello was as fond of women as dogs are fond of a good stout stick. Is it therefore necessary to accord D'Annunzio more than a ...