F. Marion Crawford (1854–1909)

Corleone is the fourth and final novel of the Saracinesca tetralogy by F. Marion Crawford. The action takes place primarily in Sicily and to a lesser extent Rome, home of the noble Saracinesca family. The eponymous protagonist of the third volume, Don Orsino, returns and we are introduced to one his three brothers, Ippolito, a Catholic priest. At the outset of the novel, Orsino is still brooding over the loss of his great love and the failure of his attempt to become a useful man of affairs in the previous volume.

Two events happen to kick off the plot of the novel. At a formal dinner given by his mother, he is seated next to a young woman, who has recently left the convent and the tutelage of an order of nuns. Her name is Vittoria d'Orsani and she is a member of a down at heels family of Sicilian nobility, the Pagliucas. Their title takes its name from the city of Corleone and that now famous name enters into literature some seven decades before Mario Puzo immortalized in The Godfather. (Despite the fact this novel refers frequently to the Mafia and its spirit, the term "godfather" never comes into play.)

In any event Orsini is very attracted to Vittoria and quickly falls in love with her. Their romance is discouraged by his family as the Pagliucas have an unsavory reputation and are regarded by the Saracinesca elders as a family of "bad blood". They do not regard Vittoria as personally objectionable but her three brothers are all considered to be of dubious character, little merit and are reputed to have an ongoing cooperative relationship with the Sicilian brigands who terrorize the countryside and elude the efforts of the carabineers to track them down, thanks in part to the Pagliuca brothers, Tebaldo, Francesco and Ferdinando.

The other matter that occurs is an offer to Orsini to be of service to his cousin San Giacinto to help him manage for a short period of time an acquisition of a property in Sicily that he needs to complete a planned railroad whose construction will net him a handsome profit. The property he intends to acquire known as Camaldoli belongs to the Pagliucas. Two of the three brothers are willing to sell as they frankly need to the money in order maintain a foothold in Roman society which they hope to leverage to make marriages that will make their fortune. The third brother who has remained in Sicily, Ferdinando, is strong armed by his brothers into agreeing to the sale, but he vows that no buyer will ever be allowed to take possession of Camaldoli and he enlists the local brigands to assist him the execution of his plans.

So, the Saracinesca and the Corleone families are destined for enmity at the same time that Orsini's and Vittoria's desire to be married seem doomed to be thwarted by their respective elders. To make matters worse, Ippolito, who accompanied his brother Orsini to Sicily becomes embroiled in an accusation of murder from which is unable to defend himself due to the restraints imposed on him by the seal of confession.

Like all of Crawford's novels in this series, Corleone contains a number of sub-plots, mainly revolving around Tebaldo's simultaneous pursuit of an American heiress with a fortune in the millions, and a beautiful Sicilian girl who is enjoying what promises to be a great (and lucrative) career. Tebaldo wants the American's fortune and the Sicilian's love. His affairs are further complicated by the fact that he has a romantic rival for the Sicilian girl in his brother Francesco. This rivalry also turns out to have unfortunate consequences for the Saracinesca.

As always, Crawford shows an ability to penetrate the psychology of all his characters and that of men and women in general, and he is a master of romantic novels. I enjoyed each book in the tetralogy and commend Crawford to your attention. Cluny Media is to be congratulated for bringing back these works in handsome paperback editions.… (more)

Don Orsino is the third of four titles in F. Marion Crawford's fictional treatment the last quarter of the 19th century history of Italy centered on Rome and its transformation from the political capital of the Papal Sates to the capital of the constitutional monarchy of Victor Emmanuel II in the wake of the success of the Italian unification project.

The novels capture the spirit of the times through the lives and fortunes of an ancient Roman aristocratic family, the Saracinescas. The plots revolve around their fortunes, romances, social status and to a lesser extent their politics. That said, it is their politics that by the third volume of this history restricts their role in the new dispensation of local Roman and national political affairs.

In the aftermath of the Risorgimento political factions are divided into three groups: the Black or clerical party to which the Saracinescas belong, the Whites or the party that supports the monarchy established by Victor Emmanuel, and the Reds, or the all-out republican party. Political divisions, as Crawford depicts in his story are reflected in society. As we see in the unfolding plot of Don Orsino, for example, the homes and society of families belonging to the White faction are off-limits to the families of the Back party and vice-versa.

Our protagonist, Don Orsino, is the eldest of four sons of Giovanni Saracinesca and his wife Corona whose story was the main plot line of the second volume and the grandson of the reigning paterfamilias whose family name was used as the title in the first volume in the quartet.

Don Orsino has completed his education and reaches majority status in this volume. He is restless, unsatisfied with the prospective role that everyone, especially his family expects him to occupy, that of a wealthy scion of a noble family who stands to inherit fortunes from both parents. A life if idleness if he will submit to it, spiced up by travel and romantic dalliances is his near-term future. His family suggests that if he needs occupation he should study the issues and problems that would allow him to manage some part of the family estates. He would in effect learn agriculture and the well-being of the rent paying laborers who provide a major source of the family's wealth.

Orsino is disinclined to take up the family affairs as his occupation. He wants to succeed by dint of his own talents, energy and good fortune. Rome is undergoing at this time a physical transformation related to the political and social transformation related to unification. There is a major real estate boom in progress, vast fortunes are being (or apparently being) realized, and Orsino is eager to try his skills which at the outset are non-existent and test his native abilities and luck.

At the same time Orsino meets a mysterious "new girl in town", one Maria Consuelo d'Aranjuez D'Aragona, with whom he becomes acquainted, then strikes up a flirtation then ultimately falls in love. The pursuit of Maria occurs in parallel with the story of Orsino's entrepreneurial adventure and the two tracks of his affairs form the substance of the story's plot.

Orsino enjoys a lucky night at the gambling tables which yield what he hopes will be enough capital to act as seed money for the real estate venture that he has decided upon. His family does what it can to discourage him in a career that is beneath his status as the eldest scion of the ancient Roman nobility. He seeks the advice his relative, San Giacinto, who has become a prominent, wealthy financier. Giacinto's advice is to "be a farmer". It is a useful occupation for which his status and future responsibilities will be needed. Moreover, San Giacinto's knowledge of the real estate market has led him to conclude that the boom is winding down and there will be the inevitable failures that ensue when properties remain on the market unsold, failures lead to restrictions on lines of credit and the market for the paper sold by lenders to third party, mainly foreign investors, collapses.

Sobered but not completely discouraged, Orsino seeks the advice of Ugo Del Ferice, a prominent banker and parliamentarian of the White faction. Ugo is also a man with a history of enmity toward the Saracinescas who once fought a duel with Orsino's father. However, Orsino is not privy to the details surrounding the duel and neither of his parents are inclined to share the story. Del Ferice gives Orsino the advice he wants to hear and offers to back his enterprise. He introduces him to an architect to be his partner who proves to be talented, diligent and honest. Orsino, who knows nothing of the building trades decides to immerse himself in the administrative affairs of the firm and becomes a competent accountant in a brief period of time.

In the meantime, Orsino's relationship with Maria Consuelo ebbs and flows. Her past life is a complete mystery apart from the fact that she is a young widow. He finds it impossible to find a source that can reveal anything about her origins. This is a matter of great consequence to his family, though Orsino denies that he would let it be an obstacle to their being married. Maria Consuelo's seems to blow hot and cold regarding her end of the relationship and does her best to discourage any matrimonial notions entertained by Orsino.

One of the notable features of this story is the relative lack of supporting characters compared with the first two installments in the series. Aside from Del Ferice and the architect, Andrea Contini the only character who appears with any frequency is Count Spicca, a solitary individual, known mainly for his dualling skills and his extensive history of their successful deployment. He is now elderly, down at heels noble who has his own mysterious relationship with Maria Consuelo which he has no intention of disclosing to his friend, Orsino.

The plot of the novel consists of the unwinding of the story of Orsino's business ventures and his romantic affairs with Madam d'Aranjuez. I will not provide any spoilers except to say that the denouement is a corker.

Crawford's style is similar to Henry James, his contemporary and friend. The pace is deliberate, and the story is interspersed with reflections on the psychology of his characters, human nature in general and moral philosophy, all of which are as well articulated as edifying. I submit this lengthy paragraph as a for instance.

"Perhaps it is not easy to believe that recklessness is a manifestation of the second degree of passion, while the highest shows itself in painful sacrifice. Yet the most daring act of chivalry never called for half the bravery shown by many a martyr at the stake, and if courage be a measure of true passion, the passion which will face life-long suffering to save its object from happiness or degradation is greater than the passion which, for the sake of possessing its object, drags it into danger and the risk of ruin. It may be that all this is untrue, and that the action of these two imaginary individuals, the one sacrificing himself, the other endangering the loved one, is dependent on the balance of the animal, intellectual and moral elements in each. We do not know much about the causes of what we feel, in spite of modern analysis; but the heart rarely deceives us, when we can see the truth for ourselves, into bestowing the more praise on the less of the two deeds. But we do not often see the truth as it is. We know little of the lives of others, but we are apt to think that others understand our own very well, including our good deeds if we have done any, and we expect full measure of credit for these, and the utmost allowance of charity for our sins. In other words we desire our neighbor to combine a power of forgiveness almost divine with a capacity for flattery more than parasitic. That is why we are not easily satisfied with our acquaintances and that is why our friends do not always turn out to be truthful persons. We ask too much for the low price we offer, and if we insist we get the imitation."

Crawford's work is of the highest merit, and I give it my highest recommendation.… (more)

Ouida considered this Crawford's best book as of 1900, when she wrote of it. Marzio's conflicted, ornery character is presented well, the others adequately, except the two women who are empty stereotypes. There are several effective conversations among different people which explore the relationship between the Church and the ordinary man, the Church representing wealth and arrogance in Marzio's mind, and the source of his general aggrievement regarding his social position in Rome. He is a respected silversmith, an acknowledged master, yet he feels unappreciated. Commissions for silver chalices and ewers and other religious paraphernalia are the primary source of his income, and he is not a poor man. Yet he chafes and grumbles at the power of the priests, which include his own brother, and in private is given to bombastic explosions of resentment and envy.
A conversation between a bishop and Paolo, Marzio's priest brother, in which they discuss how wealth and ecclesiastical authority justify the inequality in society, may represent Crawford's own attitude, that the common man is not competent to conduct his own affairs, and it is the Church which provides the guardrails which guide men's behavior. His treatment of Marzio's work, of his sensual and reverential relationship with the beautiful objects he creates, with the tools, the smells of wax and metal and dust, is sympathetic and evocative. Crawford, whose father was Thomas Crawford, a sculptor in stone in Rome. is clearly respectful of the skill and artistry involved in trade work.… (more)