NATALIA GINZBURG (1916-1991) was an Italian author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II, and philosophy.  She was the widow of the Italian literary figure and patriot Leone Ginzburg, who was arrested for antifascist activities and died in prison in 1944.  Ginzburg was politically involved throughout her life as an activist and polemicist.  Like many prominent anti-Fascists, for a time she belonged to the Italian Communist Party, and was elected to the Italian Parliament as an Independent in 1983.

Ginzburg's first novella, THE ROAD TO THE CITY (1942), is the story of a young peasant girl who, lured by the excitement of the city, is seduced by and marries a man she does not love.  A second novella, THE DRY HEART (1947, in the same volume), also deals with an unhappy marriage; the heroine, a former teacher, explains the circumstances that impelled her to murder her husband.  In A LIGHT FOR FOOLS / ALL OUR YESTERDAYS (1952), Ginzburg portrayed the crises of the Italian younger generation during the fascist period from 1939 to 1944.  FAMILY LEXICON / THINGS WE USED TO SAY (1963) is a novelistic memoir of her upbringing and career.  Set against the background of Napoleonic occupation, the reestablishment of Austrian hegemony, and the stirrings of the revolutionary urge for unification and independence, THE MANZONI FAMILY (1983) gracefully weaves the story of a family dynasty that incorporates all the epic tumult and emotion of the age.

The COMPLETE SHORT STORIES (2011) brings together the eight short stories that Ginzburg wrote between 1933 and 1965.  These early works are significant in the context of Ginzburg's wider repertoire.  The key themes and ideas occurring therein would come to characterize much of her later work, particularly in terms of her exploration of the difficulties implicit in developing and sustaining meaningful human relationships.  Her short stories also provide intriguing insight into the development of her trademark literary style.

LITTLE VIRTUES (1962) brings together some of Ginzburg's best-known short essays.  Whether she writes of the loss of a friend, Cesare Pavese; or what is inexpugnable of World War II; or the Abruzzi, where she and her first husband lived in forced residence under Fascist rule; or the importance of silence in our society; or her vocation as a writer; or even a pair of worn-out shoes, Ginzburg brings to her reflections the wisdom of a survivor and the spare, wry, and poetically resonant style her readers have come to recognize.  A PLACE TO LIVE (2002) is a collection of personal essays chosen from four of Ginzburg’s books.  Full of self-doubt and searing insight, Ginzburg is merciless in her attempts to describe herself and her world—and yet paradoxically, her self-deprecating remarks reveal her deeper confidence in her own eye and writing ability, as well as the weight and nuance of her exploration of the conflict between humane values and bureaucratic rigidity.


The following books are in ePUB format unless otherwise noted:


== NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES ==

* All Our Yesterdays (Arcade, 2012).  Angus Davidson, trans.
* City and the House, The (Arcade, 2011).  Dick Davis, trans.
* Complete Short Stories (Toronto, 2011).  Paul Lewis, trans.
* Family Lexicon (NYRB, 2017).  Jenny McPhee, trans.
* Light for Fools, A (Dutton, 1957).  Angus Davidson, trans. -- PDF
* Manzoni Family, The (Arcade, 2013).  Marie Evans, trans.
* No Way (HBJ, 1974).  Sheila Cudahy, trans. -- PDF
* Road to the City: Two Novellas (Arcade, 2012).   Frances Frenage, trans.
* Things We Used to Say, The (Arcade, 1997).  Judith Woolf, trans. -- PDF
* Valentino and Sagittarius: Two Novellas (Holt, 1988).  Avril Bardoni, trans. -- PDF
* Voices in the Evening (Arcade, 2011).  D. M. Low, trans.


== ESSAYS ==

* Little Virtues: Essays (Arcade, 2015).  Belle Boggs, foreword.
* Little Virtues: Essays (Daunt, 2018).  Rachel Cusk, foreword.
* Place to Live, A (Seven Stories, 2002).  Lynne Schwartz, trans.

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