The Glorious Ones: A Novel

From the New York Times
bestselling author of Reading Like a Writer and A Changed Man, an early novel
about a theater troupe in 17th century Italy, republished to coincide with the
opening of a Broadway musical inspired by the book

The Glorious Ones travel the
length and breadth of 17th-century Italy, playing commedia dell’arte in the
streets and palaces with equal vigor. A small company of players founded by the
ingenious madman Flamino Scala, they endure kidnappings, passionate affairs,
cabals, riots, disgrace, and all manner of triumph and hardship. Pantalone the
miser, sunny Armanda the dwarf, gossip-loving Columbina, and evil-minded
Brighella view their myriad shared adventures through markedly different eyes.
Yet not one of them is prepared for the strange twisting of the road brought
about by the mysterious arrival of Isabella Andreini, who has come to direct
their wayward troupe.

In a beautiful new package, The Glorious Ones features musical tie-in
cover art, as well as the original, beautiful interior designed by Harry Ford
in 1974.

The Glorious Ones travel the length and breadth of seventeenth-century Italy, playing commedia dell'arte in the streets and palaces with equal vigor. Founded by the ingenious madman Flamino Scala, the small company of players endures kidnappings and passionate affairs, cabals, riots, disgrace—all manner of triumph and hardship. Pantalone the miser, sunny Armanda the dwarf, gossip-loving Columbina, and evil-minded Brighella view their myriad shared adventures through markedly different eyes. Yet not one of them is prepared for the strange twisting of the road brought about by the mysterious arrival of Isabella Andreini, who has come to direct their wayward troupe.

“A master fiction-writer.” - Time Out New York

“Francine Prose has a knack for getting to the heart of human nature.” - USA Today on A Changed Main