Andrea Delfin

"Andrea Delfin" by Paul Heyse is a novella likely written during the mid-19th century. Set in 18th-century Venice, the story follows Andrea Delfin, a weary legal clerk from Brescia, as he navigates personal and political intrigues while seeking refuge in the home of widow Giovanna Danieli. The narrative teeters on the brink of romance and suspense, as characters reveal their secrets amid the oppressive atmosphere of the Venetian authorities. At the start of the novella, we meet Signora Giovanna, who sits at the foot of her staircase, awaiting visitors, having recently lost her husband. One evening, she opens the door to Andrea Delfin, a mysterious man seeking lodging. As they converse, it becomes evident that Andrea is not merely a clerk but possibly harboring deeper motives, hinted at through his weary demeanor and cryptic discussions about the local political climate. Meanwhile, Giovanna's spirited daughter, Marietta, adds a layer of youthful innocence and curiosity. Their interactions reveal tensions within the oppressive Venetian society, marked by whispers of political danger, and hint at Andrea's own past and clandestine ambitions. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was a German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty dramas. The sum of Heyse's many and varied productions made him a dominant figure among German men of letters. He was awarded the 1910 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories." Wirsen, one of the Nobel judges, said that "Germany has not had a greater literary genius since Goethe." Heyse is the fifth oldest laureate in literature, after Alice Munro, Jaroslav Seifert, Theodor Mommsen and Doris Lessing.