The Last Leopard: A Life of Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa

In 1957, Giuseppe Tomasi, the last Prince of the Sicilian Lampedusa family, died impoverished and unknown, leaving behind the manuscript of a book he had recently finished. The following year the book, The Leopard, was published in Italy and has since been widely translated and recognized as one of the great novels of the twentieth century. For over a quarter of a century, the reclusive man's papers were hidden from the public, until David Gilmour was befriended by Lampedusa's adopted son. From letters, diaries and notebooks, Gilmour has brought to life the unlikely character of this enigmatic genius, and his milieu in Sicily and Europe. The Last Leopard is a fascinating meditation on what makes a writer and a masterpiece.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Note on Translations Family tree Map Foreword: In Search of Lampedusa Foreword to the Fifth Edition 1 The Inheritance 2 A Sicilian Childhood 3 The War and Fascism 4 The Wanderer in England 5 A Baltic Marriage 6 The Troubles of Don Giuseppe 7 At Home in the Via Butera 8 The Consolation of Literature 9 The Reluctant Writer 10 Vocation and Commitment 11 Death and Redemption 12 The Solitude of Don Fabrizio 13 The Leopard's Sicily 14 Il caso Lampedusa Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

About the Author :
David Gilmour's books include award-winning biographies of Rudyard Kipling and Lord Curzon. He is also the author of The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj and of several books on Spain and the Middle East. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a former Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford, he is a contributor to the Spectator and the New York Review of Books. He is currently writing a book on Giuseppe Verdi and the unification of Italy. The Last Leopard won the Marsh Biography Award in 1989.

Review :
'Outstandingly good - Lampedusa has found a biographer worthy of The Leopard' Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph 'a triumph of fine writing: elegant, witty, concise - everything a good biography should be' Ian Thompson, Independent 'Stylishly written and assiduously researched - admirers of the novel - should all read Mr Gilmour's book, and then go back to The Leopard.' Cyril Ray, Punch 'Only a biographer of considerable stature could do justice to Giuseppe Tomasi, Prince of Lampedusa, author of The Leopard, a twentieth century classic ... Gilmour draws ideas together and orders his material skilfully, the quality of his research matched by the depth of his background knowledge and reading against which it is set. His prose is very easy to read, relaxed in its simplicity and clarity. Nor was he content just to work on the wealth of evidence provided for him. Incredibly Gilmour was able literally to dig up original papers from the ruined Villa Lampedusa ... ' Rosemary Stoyle, Literary Review 'David Gilmour reveals himself to be an excellent biographer, whose narrative is clear, research thorough, judgements balanced and prose brisk, lively and eminently readable' Joseph Farrell, Scotsman 'He is sympathetic enough to understand Lampedusa's introverted personality, yet also objective enough not to overlook his flaws. The result combines freshness with scholarship: a very credible portrait of the man and a perceptive reading of the writer's work' Lino Pertile, Guardian 'Entertaining and astute' Marina Warner, London Review of Books