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Last edited by Tom Morris
June 26, 2023 | History
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Alberto Moravia

Alberto Moravia is an Italian journalist, short-story writer, and novelist known for his fictional portrayals of social alienation and loveless sexuality. He was a major figure in 20th-century Italian literature.

Moravia contracted tuberculosis of the bone (a form of osteomyelitis usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis) at the age of 8, but, during several years in which he was confined to bed and two years in sanatoriums, he studied French, German, and English; read Giovanni Boccaccio, Ludovico Ariosto, William Shakespeare, and Molire; and began to write. Moravia was a journalist for a time in Turin and a foreign correspondent in London. His first novel, Gli indifferenti (1929; Time of Indifference), is a scathingly realistic study of the moral corruption of a middle-class mother and two of her children. It became a sensation. Some of his more important novels are Agostino (1944; Two Adolescents); La Romana (1947; The Woman of Rome); La disubbidienza (1948; Disobedience); and Il conformista (1951; The Conformist), all on themes of isolation and alienation. La ciociara (1957; Two Women) tells of an adaptation to post-World War II Italian life. La noia (1960; The Empty Canvas) is the story of a painter unable to find meaning either in love or work. Many of Moravia's books were made into motion pictures.

His books of short stories include Racconti romani (1954; Roman Tales) and Nuovi racconti romani (1959; More Roman Tales). Racconti di Alberto Moravia (1968) is a collection of earlier stories. Later short-story collections include Il paradiso (1970; “Paradise”) and Boh (1976; The Voice of the Sea and Other Stories).

Most of Moravia's works deal with emotional aridity, isolation, and existential frustration and express the futility of either sexual promiscuity or conjugal love as an escape. Critics have praised the author's stark, unadorned style, his psychological penetration, his narrative skill, and his ability to create authentic characters and realistic dialogue.

Moravia's views on literature and realism are expressed in a stimulating book of essays, L'uomo come fine (1963; Man as an End), and his autobiography, Alberto Moravia's Life, was published in 1990. He was married for a time to the novelist Elsa Morante.

Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com - Source

Photo of Alberto Moravia

Italian writer and journalist (1907-1990)

Born 28 nov 1907
Died 26 sep 1990

484 works Add another?

  • Cover of: Like lesser gods
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    Cover of edition likelessergods0000toma First published in 1949 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Conformist

    First published in 1976 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Thrombo-embolic disease in obstetrics and gynaecology

    First published in 1997 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Les Indifférents
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    First published in 1999 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Promenades africaines

    First published in 1993 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: L'amore coniugale

    First published in 1981 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: The conformist

    First published in 1952 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Viaggi: articoli 1930-1990

    First published in 1994 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Vita di Moravia

    First published in 1990 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: 2 Women

    First published in 1958 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Beatrice Cenci.

    First published in 1965 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Disobedience.

    First published in 1950 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: El Amor Conyugal

    First published in 1986 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Histoires d'amour
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    First published in 2000 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Impegno controvoglia: saggi, articoli, interviste : trentacinque anni di scritti politici

    First published in 1980 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Io e il mio tempo: conversazioni critiche con Ferdinando Camon

    First published in 1988 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: I racconti di Moravia.

    First published in 1956 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: La Désobéissance: Roman

    First published in 1949 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Nuovi racconti romani di Moravia

    First published in 1959 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: A quale tribu appartieni?.

    First published in 1972 — 2 editions
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Photo of Alberto Moravia

Italian writer and journalist (1907-1990)

Born 28 nov 1907
Died 26 sep 1990

Subjects

Fiction, Fiction, general, Italian Authors, Description and travel, Authors, Italian, Continental european fiction (fictional works by one author), Italian fiction, Social life and customs, Biography, Translations into English, Interviews, Italian Short stories, Politics and government, Travel, Italy, fiction, Triangles (Interpersonal relations), Children's fiction, Civilization, Correspondence, Fiction, thrillers, general, History, Journeys, Man-woman relationships, Manners and customs, Rome, fiction

Places

Italy, China, India, Rome, Rome (Italy), Africa, Capri (Italy), Dublin, Soviet Union, Sub-Saharan Africa, Algeria, Barre, Barre (Vt.), Chine, Europe, Hippo (Extinct city), Ireland, Italien, New England, Rome (Empire), Russia, Tuscany, Italy, Venice, Vermont, Wigan (England)

People

Alberto Moravia (1907-1990), Alberto Moravia (1907-), Amelia Rosselli, Augustine Saint, Bishop of Hippo, Augustine of Hippo, Saint (354-430), Beatrice Cenci (1577-1599), Bill Hutchinson, Claudia Cardinale (1939-), Desideria, Dina D'Isa, Elsa Morante (approximately 1912-1985), Giuseppe Prezzolini (1882-), Harry Graves, James Joyce (1882-1941), Kathleen Kearney, Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Mr. Doran, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Holohan, Mr. Summers, Mrs. Kearney, Mrs. Mooney, Old Man Warner, Polly Mooney, Tessie Hutchinson

Time

20th century, 1949-1976, 1945-, 1922-1945, 1420-1798, 1934, 1945-1989, 1947-1980, 1949-, 20th century,, Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D., Irish Revival, Primitive and early church, approximately 30-600, Siglo XX, early 1950's, mid-20th century

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Alternative names

  • alberto moravia
  • Alberto.- MORAVIA
  • ALBERTO MORAVIA
  • Alberto MORAVIA
  • moravia alberto
  • Moravia Alberto
  • Moravia Alberto.
  • Alberto 1907- Moravia
  • MORAVIA (Alberto).

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
June 26, 2023 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
February 27, 2023 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
September 30, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot add ISNI
January 16, 2020 Edited by Camillo Pellizzari Edited without comment.
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import