Orlando Furioso: A Romantic Epic: Part 1, Volumes 1-2

Ludovico Ariosto

Penguin Publishing Group, Aug 30, 1975 - Poetry - 832 pages

One of the greatest epic poems of the Italian Renaissance, Orlando Furioso is an intricate tale of love and enchantment set at the time of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne's conflict with the Moors. When Count Orlando returns to France from Cathay with the captive Angelica as his prize, her beauty soon inspires his cousin Rinaldo to challenge him to a duel - but during their battle, Angelica escapes from both knights on horseback and begins a desperate quest for freedom. This dazzling kaleidoscope of fabulous adventures, sorcery and romance has inspired generations of writers - including Spenser and Shakespeare - with its depiction of a fantastical world of magic rings, flying horses, sinister wizardry and barbaric splendour.

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About the author

Ludovico Ariosto was born in 1474, the son of an official of the Ferrarese court. He first studied law, but later acquired a sound humanistic training. His adult life was spent in the service of the Ferrarese ducal family. Essentially he was a writer; his lifetime's service as a courtier was a burden imposed on him by economic difficulties. His fame rests on his major work, Orlando Furioso. The poem was probably begun around 1505. It was first published in 1516. The most important of Arisoto's minor works are five comedies, written for production in the Ferrarese court. Ariosto died in 1533.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Orlando Furioso: A Romantic Epic: Part 1, Volumes 1-2; Classics Series; Orlando Furioso, Barbara Reynolds; Orlando Furioso: A Romantic Epic, Barbara Reynolds; Volume 1 of Orlando Furioso: The Frenzy of Orlando : a Romantic Epic, Barbara Reynolds; Penguin classics
• Author: Ludovico Ariosto
• Translated by: Barbara Reynolds
• Contributor: Barbara Reynolds
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 1975
• ISBN: 0140443118, 9780140443110
• Length: 832 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology; Poetry / Epic; Poetry / European / Italian