FALL OF THE FLORIOS

Auci concludes her expansive saga of the Florios, a famous real-life family of Sicilian industrialists.

Previous volumes (The Florios of Sicily, 2020; The Triumph of the Lions, 2024) traced the family’s fortunes from 1799 to 1893. This final installment in the saga finds the uber-successful family facing far less salubrious circumstances during the years 1894 to 1935 and concludes with an elegiac epilogue set in 1950. As mounting debt and regional rivalries erode the value of the dynasty’s assets, Ignazio, feckless heir to the manufacturing, mining, fishing, and winemaking empire, faces business and political challenges beyond his ability to maneuver. Though he attempts to maintain some degree of control of the business, the Florios’ sumptuous lifestyle is threatened. At home, Ignazio’s often-neglected wife, Franca, suffers as a result of his womanizing and the pressure to produce a male heir in order to carry the dynasty forward. (Changes in attitudes about women’s roles may factor in here, too.) Replete with detailed descriptions of the family’s various homes, travels, and social engagements—and of Franca’s fabulous wardrobe and jewelry—the account plunges the once-fortunate clan into the devastation wrought by World War I. Cameo appearances by contemporary figures including Giacomo Puccini and various European royals keep the glitz factor high as Auci deftly conveys the family’s fall from grace. Gregor and Curtis have translated the novel from Italian while retaining some phrases in the original for effect. This is the final book in a trilogy that serves as the basis for the Hulu miniseries The Lions of Sicily, and it includes a summary of the historical events underlying the plot as well as a family tree helpful for identifying the Florios, many of whom share the same given names.

A sweeping finale to a panoramic portrait.