本書は中世から現代までのイタリア文学を取り上げ、歴史、伝統、理論、政治、世俗主義、女性…の六つのテーマで切り取り、ダンテ、ペトラルカ、マンゾーニ、カルヴィーノといったイタリア文学の巨人から、あまり知られていない作家・作品まで、幅広く網羅し考察するものです。時代を問わずに繰り返されてきたテーマや、この30年間に見られた変化にも着目しています。イタリア文学にあまりなじみのない読者にも、その魅力を伝えます。
   

• Introduces Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the present day
• Discusses themes and issues that have recurred throughout history and which are still important today
• Covers a wide range of writers and works, including some of the greatest - Dante, Petrarch, Manzoni, Calvino - as well as others who are less well-known
• Considers the way in which Italian literature has changed over the last thirty years, including the influence of women's writing in Italian
• Does not assume any previous knowledge of Italian literature and is written in a clear and approachable style

  
In this Very Short Introduction, Peter Hainsworth and David Robey consider Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the present day, looking at themes and issues which have recurred throughout its history and continue to be of importance today. 
  
Examining themes such as regional identities, political disunity, and the role of the national language, they also cover a wide range of authors and works, including Dante, Petrarch, Manzoni, Montale, and Calvino. They explore some of the distinctive traditions of the literature, such as its liking for theorizing its own position, its concern with politics, and its secular orientation in spite of the Catholic beliefs and practices of the Italian people. Concluding by looking at the ways in which Italian literature has changed over the last thirty years, they examine the influence of women's writing in Italian, and acknowledge the belated recognition of its importance.