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What happens to love when a man treats every feeling as a work of art?
In Rome in the 1880s, Count Andrea Sperelli lives among beautiful rooms, flowers, music and carefully chosen clothes. A poet, painter and etcher, he follows his father's teaching: make life a work of art. Gabriele D'Annunzio's The Child of Pleasure opens with Andrea waiting for Elena Muti, the former lover who still disturbs him.
Elena is now married to an English lord. Maria Ferres, the gentle, musical wife of a diplomat, longs for tenderness and comes to trust Andrea. Between these women, his pursuit of pleasure becomes a study in obsession and deceit. The question is not simply whom he wants, but whether he can stop turning love into a game.
What you’ll discover
- Rome behind elegant doors Enter a world of balls, auctions and dinners, where beauty sets the terms.
- A mind caught in beauty Stay close to Andrea's thoughts as taste and detachment shape his approach to love.
- Two women, divided desires Meet Elena's unsettling brilliance and Maria's longing for tenderness beyond her neglected home.
- Art against life Explore what happens when every gesture is chosen and every feeling polished.
- The senses at work See Rome through a painter's eye and hear it with a poet's ear.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love rich description, Italian art and the psychology of desire. If a hero who fascinates and troubles you appeals, you will feel at home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Desire begins as a performance
- Beauty takes the place of conscience
- Elena leaves a question unanswered
- Wounded pride turns desire into cruelty
- Recovery opens another possibility for love
- Elena returns to a prepared stage
- Two courtships feed the same lie
- Beautiful moments cannot supply moral direction
- Weak will makes others bear the cost
Who’s who
- Andrea SperelliA young Roman count, poet and etcher, raised to treat life as art, who wants to love truly but cannot stop deceiving.
- Elena MutiThe Duchess of Scerni, a dazzling, ambiguous beauty who loves Andrea, leaves him suddenly, and returns as Lady Heathfield.
- Maria FerrèsA devout, musical woman from Siena, married to a gambler, who finds in Andrea a soul she hopes to save.
- DelfinaMaria's small daughter, delicate and playful, who holds her mother's whole heart and stands between her and Andrea.
- Francesca d'AteletaAndrea's witty, generous cousin, a perfect hostess who nurses him back to health and watches his affairs with sharp, sad eyes.
- Lord Humphrey HeathfieldElena's pale English husband, a collector of rare and erotic books whose hands and voice disgust Andrea.
- Giannetto RutoloA devoted lover of Donna Ippolita who faces Andrea on the racecourse and in a duel with a rapier.
- Giulio MusellaroAndrea's cultured friend, just back from India, who carries gossip about Elena and offers cool advice about love.
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The Child of Pleasure
by Gabriele D'Annunzio · 1889
A Roman aesthete duels, falls ill, and tries to love two women at once, one lie after another.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“You must make your own life as you would any other work of art.”
In short
Picture a staircase in a Roman palace and a young man climbing behind a woman whose shoulders look like polished ivory. Her graceful walk gives him genuine pleasure.
The Child of Pleasure at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 10 min4 h 55 min fast, 7 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 88,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1889by Gabriele D'Annunzio
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Roman dinner party ignites a passion
The novel opens in a Roman palace, where Count Andrea Sperelli dines with his cousin, the Marchesa d'Ateleta. She warns him with a laugh to beware a fatal guest who will be there tomorrow. He answers that he would happily come as a victim.
On the grand staircase he follows a tall woman in a fur-lined cloak. Her rhythmic walk pleases him so much that he pauses to watch her. She is Elena Muti, and she tells him warmly that she admires his poem and his etching.
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Details
- First published
- 1889
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
D'Annunzio, Gabriele. The Child of Pleasure. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-child-of-pleasure.
D'Annunzio, G. (2026). The child of pleasure. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-child-of-pleasure (Original work published 1889)
D'Annunzio, Gabriele. The Child of Pleasure. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-child-of-pleasure.
@book{dannunzio2026child,
author = {D'Annunzio, Gabriele},
title = {The Child of Pleasure},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-child-of-pleasure},
note = {First published 1889}
}
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What is The Child of Pleasure about?
It follows Count Andrea Sperelli, a young Roman aristocrat and artist, through love affairs, a duel, a recovery by the sea and a double pursuit of two women, Elena Muti and Maria Ferrès.
Who is Andrea Sperelli?
He is the hero, a poet and etcher raised by his father to treat life as art. Charming and gifted, he has little will and lies to the women he loves, often without admitting it to himself.
What does the title The Child of Pleasure mean?
The Italian title, Il piacere, means pleasure. It points to Andrea, a man trained from childhood to chase sensual and aesthetic delight, and to the book's question of what that pursuit does to his heart and conscience.
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.
“You must make your own life as you would any other work of art.”
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