Boito, Camillo: Senso: And Other Stories (Decadence from Dedalus)

Boito's stories combined decadence, the macabre, the demonic and depraved female heroines. They were an immediate and popular success in fin de siecle Italy. Visconti's film of Senso brought Boito's work international recognition. This selection includes his most celebrated novelle, including A Corpse, the bizarre tale of rivalry between an artist and a student of anatomy for the beautiful body of Carlotta, the
artist's dead mistress

Camillo Boito (1836-1914) became Professor of Architecture at the Accademia delle Belle Arti while only 19 before moving to Milan to be Professor of Architecture at the Accademia di Brera. Most of his work as an architect was in restoring major buildings to their former glory. He wrote only 17 novelle which were published in periodicals but later published in two volumes in 1876 and 1883. The Dedalus collection Senso (and other stories) is a selection from these two volumes. Boito's brother, Arrigo was a notable poet and Verdi's librettist for Otello and Falstaff.