South Wind

Bishop Thomas Heard reaches the Mediterranean island of Nepenthe already defeated by seasickness, irritation, and the humiliations of travel. The island first appears as a misty promise, then as a sunlit society where religion, gossip, and ritual mingle with comic precision. Heard is quickly drawn into a world of sharp contrasts: the flashy, cynical Mr. Muhlen, whose polished ease repels him; the intelligent young priest Don Francesco, worldly enough to discuss literature, sin, and piety with irony; and the elegant Duchess, waiting amid the morning crowd that gathers in the market-place to watch arrivals and trade stories as a civic pastime. As Heard moves deeper into Nepenthe's social life, he finds himself among wit, flirtation, and hidden scandal. Keith, charming and teasing, introduces local intrigues, the troubled Denis, Mrs. Meadows, and the island's moral ambiguities. Yet Nepenthe is more than a drawing-room comedy. Its beauty carries danger: a boat ride past the suicides' rock and the story of a young artist destroyed by the landscape suggest that the island exposes the soul as much as it delights it. Beneath the charm lies unrest, embodied in the sound of artillery, and in the shadow of the ruthless, beloved Good Duke, whose legacy reveals how charisma and cruelty can coexist. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.