The Gadfly

In a shadowy cloister garden in Pisa, Arthur Burton tears foxglove bells to pieces as he tells his beloved Padre that he has begun to care about Italy.

In the 1840s, while Austria rules much of Italy, eighteen-year-old Arthur is studying philosophy and preparing for the priesthood. Grief has driven him from home, but a clandestine student meeting has stirred a new allegiance: to the people, and to a country he can no longer dismiss as an idea. His confessor, Canon Montanelli, offers tenderness and counsel; yet Arthur’s growing convictions may put their trust—and his place in the world—under strain. What will Arthur do when duty to Italy begins to pull against everything he holds dear?

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