A Small-Town Marriage

Denza Dellara is a clumsy Cinderella too big for her hand-me-downs, saddled with a family that frustrates her hopes, and in love with a gargantuan Prince Charming who woos and then betrays her. An engaging Frog Prince appears, and though he has an enormous wart on his forehead, he can end her daydreaming and save her from impending spinsterhood . . . if she lets him.

"[S]he depicts mean, cramped lives, with a ruthless eye [and] precise strokes [to] convey the greatest sadness with the lightest poetic touch." --Italo Calvino

"As a literary creation, Denza couldn't be more convincing--real and smart enough to dispel any pity for her ignorant provincialism and to imply that occasionally she is as conscious of the ironies of her situation as the reader is. Masterpiece!" --Booklist, starred review

This 1885 novella, which reappeared in 1973 under the editorship of the late Italo Calvino, was the most celebrated work of a pseudonymous Italian writer who may remind contemporary readers of an edgier, funnier George Sand. . . . A trailblazing work, in its way, and a most welcome rediscovery." --Kirkus Reviews