Moncalvos

"Castelnuovo's most well known novel was The Moncalvos, here translated into English for the first time. It provides a rare portrayal of Jewish middle class life in Italy at the time. Giacomo and Gabriel Moncalvo are the main protagonists of the novel. Two brothers, living in Rome at the end of the nineteenth century, in the midst of Italy's economic and urban development after its political unification, both aspiring to climb the social ladder of the newly formed Italian nation. But while Giacomo, a university professor, remains anchored to the traditions of his Jewish up-bringing, Gabrio, a wealthy businessman, seeks assimilation and encourages his daughter to marry the sickly offspring of an old aristocratic Roman Catholic family--a marriage which will grant the family access to the most exclusive echelon of Roman society but will also entail the conversion of the daughter, Mariannina, and eventually of both her parents"--