V. Morton, "is embroidered everywhere by human living, and there is scarcely a hill, a stream, a grove of trees, without its story of God, of love or death." Morton's stories and observations of Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia, and Veneto, whether relating to the fantastic reconstruction of the La Scala opera house or the superstitious lovers at Juliet's Tomb, make his style as engaging as the landscape and people he evokes.

    Originally published in 1964, Lewis describes how, after Mussolini came close to destroying the Mafia, the U.S. Army returned them to power in 1944. Henceforth, they infiltrated every aspect of Sicilian life, corrupting landowners, the police, the judiciary, and even the church. In one of the most astonishing chapters, Lewis tells the story of how an eighty-year old priest led his monks on escapades of murder and extortion, frequently using the confessional box for transmitting threats. Lewis exposes its origins, its code of honor, its secrecy, and its brutality. The Honoured Society is the perfect companion for any traveler to Sicily, and a gripping armchair read.

    Soldier of 30 campaigns and the survivor of fourteen wounds, Prince Eugen fought against the French with Marlborough in a glorious brotherhood that Winston Churchill praised in glowing terms as without peer.

    

    Translated from the Italian by Beppe Cavatorta and Polly Geller. Recipient of the 1966 "Ferro di Cavallo" prize for a first novel, THE PORTHOLE was a highly praised and controversial debut. Pulling together diverse elements from the musical experiments of Cage, Schnebel and Kagel, the pictorial innovations of assemblage and pop art, x-rated comics, and dialogue from horror and World War II films, Spatola liberated his narrative from the stultifying edifice of Italian prose. The Porthole remains even more important today for its remarkable achievement in that fertile period of experimental literature. A co-publication of Otis Books/Seismicity Editions and Agincourt Press.