Valperga: or, the Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca

By Mary Shelley

The adventures of the early fourteenth-century despot Castruccio Castracani, a real historical figure who became the lord of Lucca and conquered Florence. In the novel, his armies threaten the fictional fortress of Valperga, governed by Countess Euthanasia, the woman he loves. He forces her to choose between her feelings for him and political liberty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Classics
• Release date: Apr 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781609778804

Mary Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born in 1797, the daughter of two of the leading radical writers of the age. Her mother died just days after her birth and she was educated at home by her father and encouraged in literary pursuits. She eloped with and subsequently married the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, but their life together was full of hardship. The couple were ruined by disapproving parents and Mary lost three of her four children. Although its subject matter was extremely dark, her first novel Frankenstein (1818) was an instant sensation. Subsequent works such as Mathilda (1819), Valperga (1823) and The Last Man (1826) were less successful but are now finally receiving the critical acclaim that they deserve.

Reviews for Valperga

[girlunderglass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You might have heard of Fernando Fernán Gómez before. Not as a writer of children's literature, but as a director, a scriptwriter, a playwright, or an actor (All About My Mother, Butterfly, Belle Époque etc) Yet here we have, from the same man, a delightful little piece of children's lit. The story is fun enough to appeal to kids, yet also addresses some serious issues and includes some more mature jokes that will likely go right over the youngsters' heads. And here is the story: Retal, his family and all his friends live in the most peaceful place in the world - Tranquilópolis. The inhabitants of Tranquilópolis are friendly, non-violent, easygoing, and very trusting people and have lived in harmony for centuries. There has never been a war in that area, nor do they believe that there will ever be one. Unfortunately, this does not prove to be true. And, one day, the inevitable happens: the king of a neighbouring country decides to invade their territory and has plans of ruling the town tyrannically for ever. Will Retal and his gang of friends be able to do something about it? The story is not very innovative but nonetheless I enjoyed it quite a bit. Much of the later part of the book is surprisingly violent, with people's heads being cut off and other monstrosities - Roald Dahl-style, just like I like it. That prevents the story from getting too cutesy. Which it could easily get because oh-my-God the names of people and places are just adorable: the name of the "tranquil and peaceful city" where Retal lives is Tranquilópolis, the evil king that invades it is named Malrey I (Evilking I) and one of Retal's friends is called Morito (Little Arab Boy) "because he looked like an Arab and who knows maybe he was one." Mostly, I just loved reading in Spanish again, which I haven't done for a long time. That might be why I noticed - and enjoyed even more than I usually do - all the little word-plays and puns and the different ways language is used across idioms; and I loved the book all the more because of that.