ROMANTIC TALE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22444, 13 June 1936, Page 4 (Supplement)

ROMANTIC TALE

" The Twisted Vine," by I. K. Summerhaves, is described on the title page as " an imaginative reconstruction of the early life of Jacopone da Todi, mystic poet of Uinbria," and a note is appended giving a brief outline of the subsequent life of the poet, which the author says belongs rather to history .than to legend. The book, however, must be considered as a romantic tale of life in the Umbrian city of Todi in the middle of the thirteenth century, at a time when Italy was the unhappy victim of the strugglo between the Papacy and the Empire. The atmosphere of the period is painted in a vigorous style—treachery, deceit and brutal cruelty, the gay and fashionable throng of knights and ladies at the Baths of Petrinola and tlio beggars and lepers outside the gates of Todi. Against this background is set the love story of the rich lawyer, who was also a poet, Jacomo dei Benedetti, the " Virgin of his Vision," the Lady Vanna, and his friend, tbe philosopher and student, Ronaldino. The story is an unusual one and will hold the interest of the reader throughout. " The Twißted Vine," by I. K. Summcrhnyt's. (Bles.)