God Bless You In Marrige

Alba de Céspedes - FORBIDDEN BOOK - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore - 1956 - £ 1200

In 1952 he released the first volume of the series, created by Alberto Mondadori, Italian great storytellers and the choice of opening falls on the important series De Alba Cespedes, linked by solid friendship to Mondadori, which had published his first novel in 1938 None back.

Before discussing the novel, which I've read in recent days with renewed pleasure, I must remind you that moment of crisis that affected the relationship between De Cespedes and Mondadori, in the early 60s. At the time, was still working to Mondadori in Rome and offices we spoke openly about this fact. What had happened was that Nicholas Gallo in preparing for the back cover of the new edition of the novel De Cespedes the side of the necklace for her The Wood, had used words that seemed to relegate the novel in the romance genre.

Alba De Cespedes's reaction was immediate and with a strongly worded letter to Niccolò Gallo said the termination of the contract with Mondadori. To understand the general character of this writer, the pen is part of that letter read:

.. . I have found an abundance of expressions that I exclude from my vocabulary (eg, "inner turmoil", "reflect his heart," "nuanced and sweet") and I dislike even more as they worked to define, critically, to my work. On the other hand something is missing in the text: It is the consensus on the validity of my artistic work, the ethical content - not just controversial - it, to form, that style, which is of such content and expresses. My resolution is final: propose, if necessary, to change or redo the text of the flap would not help. It is not the presentation that matters to readers: this is what you think.

De Cespedes's reaction may seem excessive, if one considers what was the attitude of the cultural world in the 60s against women's literature: a mixture of snobbish enough that in fact relegated to marginal roles, contacts broken hearts and romantic fiction.

Anything but romance pink!

Notebook prohibited is a manifesto for the liberation of women from the oppression of the system but not the family, husband, children. And a complaint of the inability to communicate within the family and much more.

The novel, in diary form, is set in Rome and will be held from 26 November 1950 to May 27 the following year, in a middle-class family. Interesting, if You want to read (or reread) the book, do a little research on the internet to see what was the Italy of the '50s, as the role of women and the spirit of the time.