Der Leopard

Der Leopard is the German edition of Lampedusa's only novel, first published in 1958. It is set in Sicily in the 1860s, when Garibaldi's campaign and Italian unification unsettle the old nobility. Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina, is a proud and thoughtful man who senses that his class is fading, while his nephew Tancredi moves easily into the new age. Wry social observation and deep melancholy combine with fine descriptions of Sicily. It matters as a profound meditation on change and time.