211:, suspects instead that the Frenchman has been poisoned. Together with a young servant (as narrator), he starts to investigate. Together Melani and the servant discover a network of ancient tunnels, once used by early Christians to avoid persecution. They also discover that the other guests of the inn are using the tunnels for their own mysterious reasons. While the scenario unfolds, outside the whole Christian world anxiously awaits the outcome of the Turkish siege at the
27:
437:
for
William's victory; but, as historians observed in 1841, "the plain truth is, that William all along had a strong party among the cardinals ... the great principle of the papal court was to check in Italy the progress of the French, who more than once flattered themselves with the hope of becoming
294:
reviewer wrote, "A massive, elegant, baroque edifice, superbly written and researched. Imprimatur is as genuine as The Da Vinci Code is phony. High-minded satire gives way to broad comedy and finally slapstick. Imprimatur is many things: anti-clerical tract, Chaucerian comedy, whodunit, history
385:
and the Public Record Office of Rome â previously unknown to modern historians, and confirming the theory of a secret agreement between
William III and Innocent XI. They called upon scholars and professional historians to deepen this research based on the unearthed material.
402:. For fear of Louis XIV's dominance, not only Innocent but also Catholic leaders such as the king of Spain and the elector of Bavaria supported William of Orange. The conflict between the papacy and Louis XIV continued under Pope Innocent's immediate successors,
186:. It was originally published in Italy in 2002; since when it has been translated into twenty languages, and sold a million copies worldwide. It is the first in a series of books based around the principal character of the 17th century diplomat and spy,
198:
The story is set in a Roman inn in the year 1683. Ten guests of varying origin are resident, including a French guitar player, a Tuscan doctor, a
Venetian glass artisan, an English refugee, a Neapolitan astrologer posing as an artist, and an enigmatic
301:
asked, "What should be more admired: the keenness, great narrative talent, and knowledge of philologist Rita
Monaldi and musicologist Francesco Sorti, or the masterful style and superior quality of language of a captivating literary creation?"
438:
masters of the entire
Peninsula. There are reasons for believing that, when the Prince of Orange came over to expel his most Catholic father-in-law, he brought some of the pope's money with him to help him in that undertaking."
368:
Although the story itself is fiction, many of the persona and events are not. The book is based on research by
Monaldi and Sorti, who researched information from 17th-century manuscripts and published works concerning the
469:. It was subsequently reported that the authors had been effectively "blackballed by Italian journalism and publishing" because of the embarrassment caused to the church. A spokesman for the Vatican has denied this.
235:). It was reported as the fourth bestselling book at the time, and led to a second edition. The novel received a number of positive critical reviews in the international literary press.
279:
called it "an exuberant and discursive historical novel, crammed with fascinating detail." Scotland on Sunday said, "The authors inject every scene with life, colour, lies and wit."
445:, a historian at the University of Cambridge has written, "It is widely accepted, because of James's indebtedness to France, that the Pope was actually relieved when James fell."
724:
285:
described it as "a literary page-turner which delivered what Eco could not: a genuinely new discovery which was guaranteed to set the cat among the
Vatican pigeons."
203:. Everyone is hiding their own secret. When the French nobleman De Mourai dies suddenly, the inn is placed under quarantine because the authorities believe the
907:
959:
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336:. Elsewhere, comparisons with the group of characters inhabiting the inn have been drawn with the model used successfully by authors such as
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320:
Some literary critics have suggested that the book recalls many elements of the traditional detective novel, such as those featuring
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508:
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231:
The novel was first published in
Italian in March 2002 after the rights were bought by the publishing house, Mondadori (owned by
775:
160:
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888:
381:. In an appendix to the book are listed and examined a number of new historical sources discovered by the authors in the
349:
269:
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The reign of Pope
Innocent XI was indeed marked by conflict between the papacy and the French monarchy, in the person of
949:
939:
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262:
433:, a strong supporter of King James, reported that the pope "seemed horribly scandalised" that any cathedral had sung a
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344:. The authors themselves have stressed the influence of the Italian philosophical novel of the 19th century,
427:
of thanksgiving, while similar celebrations were held in
Catholic churches in Madrid, Brussels, and Vienna.
219:. If the Christian reinforcements arrive too late, Vienna will fall and Europe will be at the mercy of the
458:
453:
It has been suggested that the controversial claim damaged the reputation of Pope Innocent and halted
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251:
892:
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418:
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328:. Or furthermore a âswashbucklerâ set in the baroque age reminiscent of âThe Three Musketeersâ by
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reached Rome, the papal court, still allied with him against Louis XIV, but by then headed by
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praised the "breathless search for a truth that tears away all the veils of deception."
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745:"History of Great Britain from the revolution to the accession of the House of Hanover"
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290:
220:
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357:
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442:
179:
51:
36:
378:
333:
273:, a British literary magazine, said, "Imprimatur starts well and gets better."
257:
246:
208:
187:
215:. The Christian military coalition has been assembled under the direction of
395:
353:
304:
232:
200:
139:
99:
803:"BBC NEWS - UK - Northern Ireland - King Billy painting a 'mixed blessing'"
297:
714:. Transaction Publishers. January 1, 1997 – via Internet Archive.
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had been keen to promote Innocent's cause as an active opponent of the
423:
241:
245:
of Spain compared it with classic 20th century historical novels like
837:
The pictorial history of England during the reign of George the Third
465:
in the light of the terrorist attack by Islamic fundamentalists on
472:
Subsequent novels in the series have been published in English -
466:
850:
John Follain, "William of Orange - Funded by the Pope" in the
398:, over matters such as the French claim to what it called the
239:, the American magazine of the Historical Novel Society, and
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thesis and Dickensian dose of urban underbelly." In France,
413:
When news of William's decisive victory over James at the
630:
Kelly, John Norman Davidson; Walsh, Michael J. (2010).
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567:
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called the authors "the successors to Umberto Eco."
154:
146:
134:
124:
116:
106:
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81:
71:
61:
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906:MacInnes, Allan I.; Williamson, Arthur H. (2006).
834:Craik, George Lillie; MacFarlane, Charles (1841).
747:. Dublin, Marchbank – via Internet Archive.
889:"Vatican "bans" book revealing "secret" of pope"
207:has broken out. One guest, the mysterious abbot
421:, is reported to have ordered the singing of a
360:â, as well as in the Germanic âBildungsromanâ.
8:
31:Writing of the hardback version of the book
19:
657:Durant, Will; Durant, Ariel (7 June 2011).
25:
18:
356:divides his narrative up into days in ââ
16:Book by Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti
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503:
501:
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497:
495:
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324:and Dr Watson; or a murder-mystery by
909:Shaping the Stuart World, 1603 - 1714
784:, (NuVision Publications, LLC, 2004,
7:
792:), p. 18, originally written in 1913
743:Belsham, William (January 1, 1802).
733:, (Lea and Blanchard, 1844), p. 377
684:Pollard, Tony; Banks, Iain (2008).
163:(IT, Mondadori, paperback edition)
14:
960:Arnoldo Mondadori Editore books
1:
538:"More than a Matter of Words"
270:The Times Literary Supplement
887:Malcolm Moore (2008-03-10).
586:"Les hritiers d'Umberto Eco"
263:Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
174:is the title of an Italian
976:
777:The Re-Conquest of Ireland
542:historicalnovelsociety.org
406:, an ally of William, and
364:Background and controversy
945:Italian historical novels
316:Style and literary models
126:Published in English
24:
726:The History of the Popes
561:Retrieved 1 January 2023
712:"The Australian nation"
663:. Simon and Schuster.
602:ââImprimaturââ, p.xiii
633:A Dictionary of Popes
620:ââImprimaturââ, p.532
459:Roman Catholic Church
854:, September 23, 2001
660:The Age of Louis XIV
252:The Name of the Rose
950:Fiction set in 1683
940:2002 Italian novels
893:The Daily Telegraph
823:. 25 February 2013.
592:. 12 December 2002.
419:Pope Alexander VIII
415:Battle of the Boyne
404:Pope Alexander VIII
62:Original title
21:
955:Novels set in Rome
763:worldsocialism.org
400:Gallican Liberties
390:Historical context
346:Alessandro Manzoni
227:Critical reception
865:"A papal mystery"
821:"History Ireland"
809:. 18 August 2006.
731:Leopold von Ranke
643:978-0-19-929581-4
611:Imprimatur, p.512
457:proceedings. The
408:Pope Innocent XII
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117:Publication place
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217:Pope Innocent XI
213:Battle of Vienna
176:historical novel
108:Publication date
86:Historical novel
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383:Vatican Archive
371:siege of Vienna
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352:â. Noting that
342:Charles Dickens
330:Alexander Dumas
326:Agatha Christie
322:Sherlock Holmes
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276:The Independent
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184:Francesco Sorti
135:Media type
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56:Francesco Sorti
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782:James Connolly
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759:"Orange Myths"
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697:978-9004164482
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687:Scorched Earth
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288:In Australia,
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876:. 2008-05-08.
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519:on 2014-11-03
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521:. Retrieved
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509:"Imprimatur"
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194:Plot summary
180:Rita Monaldi
170:
169:
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52:Rita Monaldi
32:
379:Atto Melani
334:Jules Verne
258:The Leopard
247:Umberto Eco
209:Atto Melani
188:Atto Melani
20:Imprimatur
934:Categories
523:2014-11-03
484:References
441:Professor
375:the plague
282:The Herald
171:Imprimatur
161:2702874215
66:Imprimatur
33:Imprimatur
912:. BRILL.
807:bbc.co.uk
690:. BRILL.
559:The Times
480:in 2013.
449:Follow-up
396:Louis XIV
354:Boccaccio
310:L'Express
305:Le Figaro
233:Fininvest
201:Jansenist
140:Paperback
100:Mondadori
96:Publisher
474:Secretum
463:Ottomans
298:Le Monde
237:Solander
221:Ottomans
72:Language
478:Veritas
435:Te Deum
424:Te Deum
242:El Pais
138:Print (
102:(Italy)
90:Mystery
76:Italian
37:Monaldi
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788:
694:
667:
640:
205:plague
48:Author
39:&
868:(PDF)
147:Pages
120:Italy
82:Genre
41:Sorti
914:ISBN
786:ISBN
692:ISBN
665:ISBN
638:ISBN
467:9/11
377:and
348:´s â
340:and
255:and
182:and
156:ISBN
130:2002
112:2002
54:and
35:by
332:or
261:by
249:´s
150:644
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142:)
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