The Child of Pleasure

The Child of Pleasure (Il Piacere) is a novel by Gabriele D’Annunzio, first published in 1889. Translated into English in 1898 by Georgina Harding, this decadent Italian novel is the first book in D’Annunzio’s Romanzi della Rosa trilogy. Set in the refined yet morally restless world of late-nineteenth-century Rome, the story offers an intimate portrait of aristocratic excess, aesthetic obsession, and emotional ruin.

The novel follows Andrea Sperelli, a young nobleman and self-styled aesthete who lives entirely for beauty, pleasure, and sensation. Cultured, witty, and dangerously self-indulgent, Andrea moves through salons, love affairs, and artistic circles with ease, treating life itself as a work of art. His passionate relationship with the elusive Elena Muti defines his early emotional life, leaving him caught between desire and pride when the affair collapses.

As Andrea attempts to recover from heartbreak and physical injury, he becomes entangled with Maria Ferres, a woman of apparent purity and spiritual depth. Torn between sensual memory and idealised devotion, Andrea’s inner conflict exposes the hollowness beneath his cultivated elegance. D’Annunzio explores themes of decadence, moral decay, and the destructive power of unchecked desire through richly detailed prose and psychological intensity.

Often compared to the works of Oscar Wilde and Joris-Karl Huysmans, The Child of Pleasure stands as a landmark of European Decadent literature. Deeply autobiographical in tone, the novel reflects D’Annunzio’s own aesthetic philosophy and fascination with beauty, art, and excess, making it an essential read for lovers of classic literary fiction and fin-de-siècle literature. This is a 1898 translation by Georgina Harding.