Little Novels of Italy

In Short

This collection of five vivid tales captures the vibrant, turbulent spirit of late-medieval and Renaissance Italy. Through a gallery of washerwomen, poets, ambitious lords, and scheming secretaries, the stories chart the delicate line between worldly desire and spiritual grace. Hewlett weaves historical realism with romantic myth as his characters navigate the perils of beauty, power, and religious fervor. The book endures because of its sharp psychological insight, lyrical prose, and timeless depiction of human frailty set against the backdrop of Italian cities like Verona, Ferrara, and Nona.

The Story

The volume opens in Verona with "Madonna of the Peach-Tree," where the breathtakingly beautiful washerwoman Vanna Scarpa marries the elderly, miserly Baldassare. Her radiant innocence and sudden pregnancy provoke the bitter jealousy of her neighbors and the corrupt intentions of a friar, Fra Battista. Driven out of the city by an angry mob carrying stones, Vanna flees into the countryside with her newborn child. In their desperate hour, she takes refuge in a den of outlaws and vagrants who, struck by her serene beauty and gentle grace, mistake her for the Virgin Mary herself. When news of her miraculous presence spreads back to Verona, her former tormentors are struck with remorse, revering her memory as a saint long after she vanishes.

In "Ippolita in the Hills," a young woman's extraordinary beauty becomes her burden when her father sells her to a circle of obsessed poets and noblemen who wish to elevate her as their living muse. Desperate to escape their suffocating worship and the clutches of the obsessive Messer Alessandro, Ippolita disguises herself in rags as a boy named Silvestro and escapes into the wild hills. Living among goatherds and bandits, she learns the bitter complexities of freedom, ultimately intervening to save the outlaw Castracane from Alessandro's traps by revealing her true identity on her own terms.

Political intrigue takes center stage in "The Duchess of Nona." The gentle Englishwoman Molly marries the ambitious Italian condottiero Amilcare Passavente, who uses her innocence and striking beauty as pawns to seize power over the city of Nona. Amilcare's treacherous secretary, Grifone, schemes behind the scenes, manipulating both his master's paranoia and Molly's trust. When Grifone murders Amilcare in a calculated bid to claim Molly and the duchy for himself, his brilliant plotting collapses under the weight of his own monstrous arrogance, leaving Molly to face the tragic fallout of high-stakes Italian politics.

The final stories examine the tangled nature of romantic devotion. "Messer Cino and the Live Coal" satirizes the exaggerated conventions of courtly love through a poet whose lofty verses for Monna Selvaggia are met with blunt reality. Lastly, "The Judgment of Borso" follows the sweet, humble love between young Angioletto and Bellaroba, who become entangled in a murder mystery alongside the scheming Venetian beauty Olimpia. When Duke Borso of Ferrara steps in to dispense justice, he unravels the deception, rewarding the young lovers' pure devotion while punishing the truly guilty.

How It Unfolds

The riverbank's jewel In Verona, the lovely washerwoman Vanna catches the eye of the aged miser Baldassare, entering a quiet marriage that soon draws the suspicion and spite of her envious neighbors.

A miraculous refuge Exiled by a vengeful mob after giving birth, Vanna finds shelter among desperate outlaws who behold her quiet dignity and believe they are entertaining the Blessed Virgin.

Flight from the muses In the second tale, the beautiful Ippolita flees the noblemen who seek to imprison her as an idol, cutting her hair and adopting the guise of a male goatherd in the hills.

Pawn of power The innocent Duchess Molly is paraded through northern Italian courts by her calculating husband Amilcare, who uses her charm to solidify his fragile political domain.

The secretary's strike Amilcare’s cunning secretary, Grifone, orchestrates his master’s downfall through a fatal betrayal, attempting to claim both the duchy of Nona and the helpless duchess for himself.

Justice in Ferrara In the concluding story, the wise Duke Borso untangles a dark murder scheme, vindicating the steadfast affection of young Angioletto and Bellaroba over worldly corruption.

The People

• Giovanna (Vanna) Scarpa: A modest Veronese washerwoman whose serene beauty and unshakeable virtue endure false accusations, driving her into exile where her grace inspires reverence.
• Ippolita: A fiercely independent woman who rejects the suffocating idolization of courtly admirers, disguising herself as a boy in the rugged hills to claim her own autonomy.
• Messer Alessandro: An obsessive, poetic nobleman who views Ippolita not as a human being, but as a divine image to be bought, worshiped, and contained.
• Amilcare Passavente: A ruthless soldier of fortune who marries the innocent Molly, using her beauty as a political instrument to secure his rule over Nona.
• Duchess Molly: Amilcare's gentle, trusting English bride, whose deep capacity for affection leaves her tragically vulnerable to the dark schemes of the Italian court.
• Grifone: Amilcare’s brilliant and sociopathic secretary, whose relentless scheming and pride lead him to murder his master to seize power and Molly for himself.
• Angioletto and Bellaroba: A pair of youthful, devoted lovers whose simple, pure trust in one another triumphs over the vanity and deadly deceit of Ferrara.

In Its Own Voice

"Like a blossoming reed she shot up to her inches by Adige, and one forgot the muddy bed wondering at the slim grace of the shaft with its crown of yellow atop."

— Describing the humble yet striking origins of Vanna Scarpa as she grows up washing clothes along the river.

"It was impossible that our love could have held us much longer at a distance from each other, impossible that we could have still suffered a third person to usurp our privileges."

— The treacherous secretary Grifone explaining his cold-blooded betrayal to the stunned Duchess Molly.

"Justice shall be done. The innocent has condemned the guilty: let that woman be hanged. We have learned the value of clean hands this day."

— Duke Borso of Ferrara delivering his swift, unyielding judgment to clear the innocent.

What It's Really About

Beneath its rich historical tapestry, the book explores the dangerous distance between idealization and reality. Hewlett consistently contrasts elevated artistic or religious devotion with the messy, human truth underneath. Characters who put women on pedestals—whether poets fashioning living muses or noblemen seeking political icons—fail to recognize their humanity, often bringing ruin upon everyone involved. The stories argue that true grace is found not in high-flown rhetoric or political maneuvering, but in simple kindness, unvarnished love, and moral integrity.

Why Read It Today

This collection appeals to readers who delight in lush, immersive historical fiction that paints the Italian Renaissance in vivid, sensory detail. Hewlett writes with a distinctive, cadenced style that balances lyrical description with sharp, wry observations on human nature. Reading the book feels like stepping into a detailed Renaissance painting—full of brilliant sunlight, dark shadows, rich fabrics, and sudden violence.

While modern readers may occasionally find the prose elaborate or the period attitudes towards gender and status challenging, the book's core strength lies in its grounded characterizations. The stories move briskly through romantic idealization, psychological drama, and political intrigue, offering a thoughtful critique of how power and beauty interact. Its enduring appeal rests in its memorable characters and its lingering meditation on what it means to preserve one's humanity in a treacherous world.