6.8 /10 1 Votes6.8
Language English Publication date 1960 Pages 110 ppp Originally published 1960 Genre Fiction | 3.4/5 Goodreads Publisher McGraw-Hill Media type Print (hardcover) OCLC 290337 Country United States of America | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Adaptations Light in the Piazza (1962) Nominations National Book Award for Fiction Similar The Light in the Piazza an, The Voice at the Back Door, On the Gulf, The Snare: A Novel, Fire in the Morning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Light in the Piazza is a 1960 novella by Mississippi writer Elizabeth Spencer.
At its core are Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara, on vacation in Italy, where Clara becomes enamored of local Florentine Fabrizio. What appears on the surface to be nothing more than a romantic story of young love slowly dissolves into a more tragic tale involving a past accident with serious consequences, dark family secrets, deception, and a conflict between maternal love and responsibility and an innocent girl's physical and emotional desires as she becomes aware of her awakening sexuality. A secondary plot resembles a comedy of manners as it examines the national differences between Americans and Italians, both represented in a somewhat stereotypical fashion.
Adaptations
Screenwriter Julius J. Epstein adapted Spencer's book for a 1962 film, directed by Guy Green. The cast included Olivia de Havilland, Yvette Mimieux, Rossano Brazzi, and George Hamilton, who was nominated for a BAFTA Award for his performance.
In 2003, the book inspired a musical adaptation, written by Craig Lucas and composed by Adam Guettel.