Author(s): Leonardo Sciascia

History

The first translation into English of the acclaimed mystery-writer's final detective novel serves as the perfect introduction to an important Italian writer. Published just before the author's death, this novel refines and condenses Sciascia's analysis of corrupt systems and the crucial part they play in Sicily's politics and society. In a small Sicilian village, a young and inexperienced policeman receives a strange phone call from a retired diplomat. On investigating the matter, he finds the diplomat dead. What at first appears to be a simple case of suicide turns into an intricate tale of corruption, the revelation of which will implicate pillars of the community. 'A Simple Story' is here published alongside 'Candido', a novella inspired by Voltaire's masterpiece Candide, the story of a naive young man making his way in the world.