9 h 47 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 47 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a man who excuses his own betrayals cannot bear his wife's?
In Gabriele D'Annunzio's The Intruder, Tullio Hermil is wealthy, cultured, and certain that ordinary rules do not bind him. He cheats on his gentle wife, Giuliana, and seeks escape with Teresa Raffo. When Giuliana falls seriously ill, fear shakes him, and love seems possible again.
Then Tullio learns that Giuliana has had an affair and is expecting another man's child. The peace he hopes to recover gives way to wounded pride. Told entirely through his confession, this short novel brings you close to a troubled mind whose polished explanations make his account harder, not easier, to trust.
What you’ll discover
- A confession without comfort Enter Tullio's account and weigh the distance between his fine feelings and his actions.
- Love tangled with pride Watch renewed tenderness struggle against a husband's refusal to accept the betrayal he excuses in himself.
- An uneasy family home Feel what is at stake for Giuliana and the daughters Tullio risks hurting.
- The child at the center See how an expected baby becomes the focus of Tullio's wounded pride.
- The language of self-deception Follow calm, polished prose as Tullio turns explanation into another way of flattering himself.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love close portraits of a troubled mind, stories of marriage and guilt, and rich scenes of Italian gardens and old country houses.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A husband who calls himself superior wrongs his wife
- Her illness brings a promise he cannot keep
- Jealousy turns on the wife he has wronged
- Spring at the Badiola seems to heal him
- A day at the Lilacs brings joy and dread
- The truth arrives through his mother
- Husband and wife agree to live and pretend
- The birth brings hatred and a nurse's devotion
- A baptism and a fixed idea close in
- Self-deception, guilt and a voice that watches itself
Who’s who
- Tullio HermilThe narrator, a clever and selfish Roman nobleman who wrongs his wife and then cannot bear the consequences of her infidelity.
- JulianaTullio's gentle, proud wife, who endures his betrayals in silence and hides a secret she cannot share.
- FedericoTullio's younger brother, a hard-working farmer who lives by simple goodness and loves his family without suspicion.
- Tullio's motherThe warm, devout head of the Badiola, who adores Juliana and longs for a grandson to carry on her husband's name.
- Teresa RaffoThe blonde mistress who holds Tullio in a poisonous passion and pulls him away from his home.
- Filippo ArborioA famous novelist whose dedication in a book troubles Tullio and becomes the face of his jealous hatred.
- Giovanni di ScordioAn old charcoal burner and sower, abandoned by his sons, who smiles through suffering and is asked to be a godfather.
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L'intruso
by Gabriele D'Annunzio · 1892
A husband takes his wife back to a lilac garden full of swallows, sure that forgiveness waits there.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
Would you stand before a judge and confess to a murder, if you knew no court on earth could judge you? That is how The Intruder begins.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A husband who calls himself superior wrongs his wife
Tullio says he cannot confess to any judge, yet cannot stay silent. He goes back to an April at the Badiola, his mother's old country house, in the seventh year of his marriage. With him are his wife Juliana and their two small daughters.
He has taken two of Juliana's friends as mistresses and spent weeks in Florence with Teresa Raffo. Juliana knows about his betrayals, and Tullio says he has not told a single lie in their brief conversations about them. He believes honesty excuses him, and that a wife who sees his rare mind will forgive what she would never forgive in common men.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1892
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 6 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
D'Annunzio, Gabriele. The Intruder. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-intruder.
D'Annunzio, G. (2026). The intruder. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-intruder (Original work published 1892)
D'Annunzio, Gabriele. The Intruder. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-intruder.
@book{dannunzio2026intruder,
author = {D'Annunzio, Gabriele},
title = {The Intruder},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-intruder},
note = {First published 1892}
}
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What is The Intruder by D'Annunzio about?
It follows Tullio Hermil, a Roman nobleman who betrays his devoted wife Juliana, then finds that she is expecting a child by another man. His jealousy and hatred grow until they drive him toward a terrible act.
Who is the intruder in the novel?
The intruder is the unwanted child Juliana carries after her affair. Tullio uses the word for the boy who will bear his name and take his family's love, which turns the baby into the object of his hatred.
Is The Intruder a true story, and when was it written?
It is a work of fiction by the Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio, published in the 1890s. It is told as a confession and studies a mind with great care, but its characters and events are invented.
The author
Gabriele D'Annunzio
1863–1938 · Italian poet and novelist
Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863–1938) was an Italian novelist, poet and playwright. He was born in Pescara and died in Gardone Riviera. His novels include The Child of Pleasure (1889), The Triumph of Death (1894) and The Flame (1900). He also served as a soldier during the First World War.
More by Gabriele D'Annunzio
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