Where Angels Fear to Tread (Penguin Classics)

A clever, engrossing portrait of class and prejudice

When attractive, impulsive English widow Lidia takes a holiday in Italy, she causes a scandal by marrying Gino, a dashing and highly unsuitable Italian twelve years her junior. Prim and snobbish, her in-laws make no attempt to hide their disapproval, and when Lidia’s decision eventually brings disaster, her English relatives embark on an expedition to face the uncouth foreigner. But their mission yields results that are unexpected, to say the least. Confronted by the beauty of Italy and the charm and vitality of the disreputable Gino, their own narrow lives are shattered by emotion, upheaval, and violence.