Graziella is an 1852 novel by the French author Alphonse de Lamartine. It tells of a young French man who falls for a fisherman's granddaughter – the eponymous Graziella – during a trip to Naples, Italy; they are separated when he must return to France, and she soon dies. Based on the author's experiences with a tobacco-leaf folder while in Naples in the early 1810s, Graziella was first written as a journal and intended to serve as commentary for Lamartine's poem "Le Premier Regret".
First serialised as part of Les Confidences beginning in 1849, Graziella received popular acclaim. An operatic adaptation had been completed by the end of the year, and the work influenced paintings, poems, novels, and films. The American literary critic Charles Henry Conrad Wright considered it one of the three most important emotionalist French novels, the others being Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's novel Paul et Virginie (1788) and Chateaubriand's novella Atala (1801). Three English translations have been published: one by James Runnion in 1875, one by Ralph Wright in 1929, and one by Raymond N. MacKenzie in 2018.
Plot
The eighteen-year-old narrator travels from his home in Mâcon, Burgundy, to Italy, staying first in Rome, then Naples. There he meets a young man named Aymon de Virieu, and the two decide to apprentice themselves to Andrea, a local fisherman. Although the first few months pass in contemplative tranquility and beauty, they are forced to take refuge at Andrea's home on Procida during a surging September storm, where they spend the night. Here the narrator first meets the fisherman's granddaughter, Graziella.
The following morning, the narrator overhears Andrea's wife, criticising him for taking on the two "pagan" Frenchmen. However, Graziella comes to their defense, silencing her grandmother by pointing out the two young men's compassion and religious acts. The family and their apprentices go to recover the remnants of the destroyed boat. Soon afterwards, the narrator and Virieu go to the village, where they purchase a new boat and fishing supplies for the fisherman. When they return, Andrea and his family are sleeping, but are soon awoken and brought to the beach, joyously accepting the new vessel.
Over the next several days, the narrator and Virieu enjoy an idyllic life, reading, walking, and enjoying the beauty, music, and dance of Procida. Graziella expresses interest in their reading, and thus the men read works by Ugo Foscolo and Tacitus to her and her family. Though these fall flat, all are interested in Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's romantic novel Paul et Virginie. Such is Graziella's fascination with the tale that she abandons all reserve and sits near the narrator, her breath on his hand, and her hair brushing his forehead. When it is over, she begs the narrator to reread the tale.
The poor weather breaks on the ninth day, and Andrea takes the young men and his family to Naples. Virieu is recalled to France, and the narrator falls ill from sorrow over his friend's departure. He sends for Andrea, and Graziella rushes to his lodging, where she treats him. Their conversation, and Graziella's care, revives the narrator's spirits. Reinvigorated, the next day, he goes to Andrea's Neapolitan lodgings in Mergellina. Since coming to the city, he learns of their fortunes: Andrea and his wife are enjoying bountiful catches, while Graziella has taken up coral carving to earn extra money. When the narrator appears unhappy to leave, they ask him to lodge with them.
Months pass, and the narrator considers Andrea's family to be his own. The narrator attempts to treat Graziella as a sister. He accompanies her to church and teaches her to read and write, and she insists that he spend more time with her, talking and learning to carve coral than futilely writing poetry. However, he realizes the extent of his affection for her when, days before Christmas, Graziella is arranged to be married to her cousin Cecco: "My life without her presence was nothing". The imminent loss of Graziella drives the narrator to abandon Naples and wander the surrounding area, returning only after the new year.