Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Manzoni was an Italian writer and philosopher. He was born in Milan, Italy. His first work, published anonymously in 1805, was a tragedy called Adelchi (1805). In 1807 he produced two novels: Le Confessioni d'un italiano and I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), which caused him to be regarded as one of the finest Italian prose writers of his day. A verse translation of Shakespeare's King Lear by him appeared in 1823; and from 1824 till his death he wrote largely for periodicals and reviews.