The Betrothed: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Betrothed, credited to Alessandro Manzoni, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Betrothed, by Alessandro Manzoni. The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi) presents a caleidoscope of individual stories, which are all tied together by the story of Lucia and Renzo, two young persons of humble origin that are deeply in love with one another. However, despite their great attachment, they are prevented from marrying by the cruel Don Rodrigo, who has himself cast an eye on the beautiful and pious Lucia. Don Rodrigo menaces the priest who was to perform the wedding ceremony, who then refuses to do his duty. Thus threatened and prevented from being married, the couple is separated, and the narration follows each of them on their struggle to unite again. Set in the years 1628-1630, the main story is accompanied by a rich and most accurate description of the historical background -- the warfaring cities, the plague, and the oppressive Spanish rule over Northern Italy during that time. The narration also includes many smaller subplots which allow the reader glimpses into the lives of the other characters involved. Alessandro Manzoni is regarded as one of the most important authors of Italian literature, and this particular work is counted to the overall most important literary works of the 19th century.

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Betrothed
• Author credits: Alessandro Manzoni
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 78
• Listed recording duration: 29:10:52

Catalogue topics

• romance
• italy

Opening tracks: first 24 of 78

1. 00 - Introduction — 10:34
2. 01 - Chapter 1, Part 1 — 23:28
3. 02 - Chapter 1, Part 2 — 22:48
4. 03 - Chapter 2, Part 1 — 15:40
5. 04 - Chapter 2, Part 2 — 16:51
6. 05 - Chapter 3, Part 1 — 22:13
7. 06 - Chapter 3, Part 2 — 16:26
8. 07 - Chapter 4, Part 1 — 18:55
9. 08 - Chapter 4, Part 2 — 19:46
10. 09 - Chapter 5, Part 1 — 19:31
11. 10 - Chapter 5, Part 2 — 23:29
12. 11 - Chapter 6, Part 1 — 15:50
13. 12 - Chapter 6, Part 2 — 16:54
14. 13 - Chapter 7, Part 1 — 29:18
15. 14 - Chapter 7, Part 2 — 23:03
16. 15 - Chapter 8, Part 1 — 24:05
17. 16 - Chapter 8, Part 2 — 37:26
18. 17 - Chapter 9, Part 1 — 23:48
19. 18 - Chapter 9, Part 2 — 28:39
20. 19 - Chapter 10, Part 1 — 28:50
21. 20 - Chapter 10, Part 2 — 26:11
22. 21 - Chapter 11, Part 1 — 24:26
23. 22 - Chapter 11, Part 2 — 27:28
24. 23 - Chapter 12, Part 1 — 23:04

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.