First published in English translation in 2014 by
And Other Stories
London – New York
Copyright © Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore 2007
First published as Vergine giurata in October 2007 by Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, Italy
English language translation copyright © Clarissa Botsford 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transported in any form by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher of this book.
The right of Elvira Dones to be identified as Author of Sworn Virgin (original title Vergine giurata) has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 9781908276346
eBook ISBN 9781908276353
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The translation of this book was made possible by the receipt in 2011 of a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant from the Pen American Center.
This book has been selected to receive financial assistance from English PEN’s Writers in Translation programme supported by Bloomberg. English PEN exists to promote literature and its understanding, uphold writers’ freedoms around the world, campaign against the persecution and imprisonment of writers for stating their views, and promote the friendly co-operation of writers and free exchange of ideas.
Contents
To my daughter Iuna