31 h 38 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 31 h 38 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Paris is under siege, but its greatest knight is chasing love instead of defending the city.
In Lodovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, Charlemagne needs his knights beside him as a Saracen army threatens Paris. Yet Orlando pursues Angelica, a princess who wants to escape her admirers. Across this legendary war, love pulls warriors away from duty, and even the strongest knight can lose command of himself.
Other paths lead through the same enchanted world. Bradamante, a Christian woman warrior, searches for Ruggiero, the Saracen knight she loves. Wizards set traps, a flying horse crosses the world, and palaces vanish at a touch. Ariosto moves between these adventures at their most tense moments, keeping danger close and human folly closer.
What you’ll discover
- A princess who escapes Follow Angelica as she uses a magic ring and her wits to evade pursuing knights.
- Love across the divide Meet Bradamante, whose steady courage carries her through the search for Ruggiero.
- The wizard’s steel castle Enter Atlante’s enchanted stronghold, where his wish to protect Ruggiero becomes a trap.
- Adventure shaped in verse Discover ottava rima, the eight-line stanza that carries this poem through war and enchantment.
- Wit beneath the wonder Enjoy a narrator whose personal remarks turn heroic adventures toward the follies of love.
Who will love it
This book suits anyone who loves fast adventure, magical castles, and a narrator with a sly sense of humor. It rewards readers who enjoy interlocking stories about love and illusion.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Angelica flees and the knights forget their war
- A sad king, a lucky chance, and two magic springs
- Bradamante falls and finds the future of Ferrara
- Atlante's castle and the horse with wings
- A noble lady is accused, and a knight rides to defend her
- Alcina's island and the prisoners who became plants
- Angelica is chained to a rock for a monster
- Everyone chases the same illusion
- Love as a kind of madness, and women who speak back
- A voice that interrupts, and a plot made of threads
Who’s who
- OrlandoCharlemagne's greatest paladin, strong and once wise, who loves Angelica and follows her across Europe.
- AngelicaThe princess of Cathay, admired by every knight and guided by a ring that makes her invisible, who wants her freedom.
- RinaldoOrlando's cousin and rival, a fierce fighter who rides the wise horse Baiardo and burns for Angelica.
- RuggieroA young Saracen warrior raised by a magician, who loves Bradamante and is destined to found the house of Este.
- BradamanteRinaldo's sister, a warrior maiden who rides armed through forests to find Ruggiero and unhorses knights on the way.
- AstolfoAn English duke, charming and boastful, who is turned into a myrtle tree and later rides the hippogriff.
- AgramanteThe young African king who invades France to avenge his father, and leads the Saracen armies against Charlemagne.
- MedoroA young Saracen foot soldier of no rank who wins Angelica's heart by his loyalty to his dead lord.
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Orlando Furioso
by Lodovico Ariosto · 1516
A knight loses his reason over a woman who loves another, while magic and war spin around him.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to readEnglish
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In short
A princess gallops alone through a forest while two rival knights forget a war to chase her. A king weeps by a stream.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Angelica flees and the knights forget their war
The poem begins in the middle of a war. Charlemagne's army camps beneath the Pyrenees, and the African king Agramante has crossed the sea to fight it. Orlando and his cousin Rinaldo both want the same woman, Angelica, a princess from the East. Charles promises her as a prize to whichever of them serves best in the coming battle.
The battle goes badly for the Christians, and Angelica sees her chance. She rides into the forest alone. Soon she sees Rinaldo running toward her on foot, and she flies from him like a shepherd girl fleeing a snake.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1516
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 20 h 35 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Ariosto, Lodovico. Orlando Furioso. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/orlando-furioso.
Ariosto, L. (2026). Orlando furioso. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/orlando-furioso (Original work published 1516)
Ariosto, Lodovico. Orlando Furioso. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/orlando-furioso.
@book{ariosto2026orlando,
author = {Ariosto, Lodovico},
title = {Orlando Furioso},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/orlando-furioso},
note = {First published 1516}
}
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What is Orlando Furioso about?
It follows Charlemagne's knights during a war with Saracen invaders. Around the war runs a web of love stories, magic, and quests, centered on Orlando's love for Angelica and Ruggiero's love for Bradamante.
What does Furioso mean in the title?
Furioso means furious or mad. The title tells you that the hero Orlando is driven out of his mind by love, a fate the poet announces in the opening stanzas.
Is Orlando Furioso a true story?
No, it is a poem of imagination. Ariosto took names from tales about Charlemagne's court and added sorcerers, winged horses, and enchanted castles. It was first published in 1516 and expanded in later versions.
The author
Lodovico Ariosto
1474–1533 · Italian Renaissance poet
Lodovico Ariosto was an Italian poet born in Reggio Emilia in 1474. He lived mainly in Ferrara and served the Este family. He wrote poems and plays. His poem Orlando Furioso first appeared in 1516, with revised editions in 1521 and 1532. He died in Ferrara in 1533.
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