The Flame (Annotated)

The Flame (Il fuoco, 1900) is D'Annunzio's sumptuous Venetian novel of artistic vocation, erotic domination, and cultural ambition. Centered on the visionary poet Stelio Effrena and the aging actress Foscarina, it transforms a love affair into a meditation on creation, sacrifice, and the dream of a renewed Latin art. Written in a highly wrought, sensuous prose, the book belongs to European Decaden...