Federico De Roberto was born in Naples in 1861 and educated at the University of Catania. He first became a literary critic for Corriere della Sera in Milan, then he turned from criticism to write several classic works, including "L'Illusione," "I Viceré," and "L'Imperio," a trilogy that forms the saga of the noble Uzeda family of Catania set against the Risorgimento. His considerable output includes collections of short stories, letters, and verse. During his lifetime, success largely eluded his efforts, but with the posthumous publication in 1958 of Lampedusa's "Il Gattopardo" ("The Leopard"), De Roberto's work was reassessed, and he now holds a prominent place in the canon of Italian literature.
