14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the beauty you love most only deepens your fear of losing it?
In Rome, Giorgio Aurispa lives for Ippolita Sanzio, a woman full of warmth and life. Yet passion brings him no peace. Wealthy and restless, he watches his own feelings until love becomes tangled with doubt. In The Triumph of Death, Gabriele D'Annunzio draws you into a mind that cannot rest.
A family crisis calls Giorgio home to Abruzzo, where old grief and a ruined household press upon him. His uncle Demetrio's suicide haunts his thoughts. Later, a quiet retreat with Ippolita on the Adriatic coast seems to promise relief. But Giorgio cannot look at beauty without imagining its end.
What you’ll discover
- Love without peace Meet Ippolita through Giorgio's shifting gaze, where delight and fear remain painfully close.
- A family in ruins Enter a troubled household where Giorgio feels tenderness, shame, and the weight of memory.
- The pilgrimage at Casalbordino Follow the lovers among poor country people who gather to pray for help.
- An uneasy coastal refuge Visit a quiet place near San Vito, where the lovers seek a fresh start.
- Beauty shadowed by decay Explore lush descriptions and a restless inner life shaped by desire, guilt, and dread.
Who will love it
Readers who love psychological novels, richly described landscapes and music, Italian settings, and stories where passion and thought pull against each other. It suits anyone drawn to characters who analyse every feeling.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- George asks love for impossible certainty
- The past crowds out the present
- Old letters become signs of loss
- Family exposes the weakness George fears
- His uncle's rooms draw him inward
- The coast promises a new beginning
- The pilgrimage closes another escape
- Desire gives way to dangerous hatred
- Every remedy leaves the doubts intact
Who’s who
- George AurispaA young man of rare education and weak will who loves Hippolyte, cannot trust her, and seeks a cure for his restless mind.
- Hippolyte SanzioGeorge's mistress, a pale and sensual Roman woman separated from her husband, who wants to be loved wholly and to heal him.
- Demetrius AurispaGeorge's dead uncle, a violinist and ascetic who left him his fortune and whose memory George treats as a guide.
- George's motherA suffering woman of noble family who begs her eldest son to confront her husband and save the household.
- George's fatherA heavy, sensual landowner who spends the family's money on a mistress and her children.
- ChristineGeorge's gentle sister, married to a baron and anxious over her frail little son Luke and her coming child.
- Colas di SciampagneThe one-eyed farmer at San Vito who rents the Hermitage and guides the lovers among local beliefs.
- CandiaColas's pregnant daughter-in-law, who cooks for the guests and tells them of ghouls and the coming Messiah.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Triumph of Death in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Triumph of Death
by Gabriele D'Annunzio · 1894
George and Hippolyte flee Rome for a hermitage by the sea, but his love for her turns into dread.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“I can live neither without you nor with you.”
In short
A man has leapt from a terrace on the Pincio hill in Rome, and idle workmen watch a driver search the bloody mud below. Two lovers stop to look.
The Triumph of Death at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 15 min5 h 45 min fast, 8 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 104,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1894by 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 love is doubted before it ends
The novel opens on the Pincio hill in Rome on a gray March afternoon. Hippolyte and George, lovers for almost two years, see men staring at the street below. A young man has thrown himself from the terrace, and a driver pokes at the bloody mud with a stick.
Hippolyte begs to leave. George says the dead are happy, because they have no more doubts. Then he asks whether she feels his love growing cold. He says every soul holds only so much passion, and that two lovers are always two strangers. He fears her past, her husband, and every man who looks at her.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1894
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
D'Annunzio, Gabriele. The Triumph of Death. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-triumph-of-death.
D'Annunzio, G. (2026). The triumph of death. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-triumph-of-death (Original work published 1894)
D'Annunzio, Gabriele. The Triumph of Death. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-triumph-of-death.
@book{dannunzio2026triumph,
author = {D'Annunzio, Gabriele},
title = {The Triumph of Death},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-triumph-of-death},
note = {First published 1894}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Triumph of Death
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Triumph of Death about?
It tells of George Aurispa and his mistress Hippolyte Sanzio over one spring and summer. George loves her but doubts her, escapes to his family home, and then to a seaside hermitage, while seeking a cure for his restless mind.
Who is Demetrius Aurispa in the novel?
Demetrius is George's late uncle, a gifted violinist and ascetic who left him his fortune. George thinks of him as his real father, and his memory and his rooms shape many of George's thoughts and choices.
Where is The Triumph of Death set?
It begins in Rome, moves to Albano, then to George's family home in Guardiagrele in the Abruzzi mountains, and ends at a house near San Vito on the Adriatic coast. It also includes the pilgrimage shrine at Casalbordino.
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.
“I can live neither without you nor with you.”
More by Gabriele D'Annunzio
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
