"The Betrothed is an inextricable thread in the fabric of Italian culture, one of the most influential works in the Italian literary canon, and required reading in Italian schools. Published in 1827 but set two hundred years earlier, it is considered the first iteration of the historical novel; Edgar Allen Poe declared it "a work which promises to be the commencement of a new style in novel-writing" in 1835. But, until now, it has remained relatively...