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Italian
Tribune, Dec 31, 2003 |
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Tales from an
Armchair Adventurer |
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The
world's best selling Italian author will come as a surprise |
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Father of the Italian
adventure novel and science fiction pioneer, Emilio Salgari (1862-1911)
was one of Italy's most prolific writers, having penned more than
a hundred adventure stories and novels, many of which are considered
classics. |
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Though virtually unknown
to the English-speaking world, Emilio Salgari is possibly the most-read
Italian author of all time. Set in exotic locations, with heroes
from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds, Mr. Salgari's novels
brought the wonders of the world to the doorstep of generations
of readers. His books have sold millions of copies and are enjoying
a renaissance in Italy, Europe and Latin America. |
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Born in Verona to a
family of modest merchants, Emilio Salgari spent much of his youth
reading the adventure novels of Thomas Mayne-Reid, Gustave Aimard
and James Fenimore Cooper. He realized from early on that he wanted
to be a writer of adventure stories and, like the authors he so
admired, wished to write from true experience. Planning to one day
captain his own ship, he enlisted at the naval academy in Verona,
but poor marks soon brought that dream to an end. His only voyage
at sea was a short trip along the Adriatic. |
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Since he
could not wonder the globe, Mr. Salgari decided to explore the world
through the written word, debuting as a writer in 1883 for the illustrated
magazine La Valigia in Milan. Later that same year he became an
editor for La Nuova Arena, a newspaper in Verona where he published
his first serial, Tay-See, an adventure set in Cochin China just
before the Franco-Chinese war. It was an enormous success that would
define Mr. Salgari's style: fast paced action filled with plot twists,
strong characters and exotic locales. "Above all," stated
Italian author Vittorio G. Rossi, "he delivered excitement
and stimulated the imagination of Italian readers, providing a sharp
contrast to the stagnant literature of his times." Writing
four or five serials a year, Emilio Salgari soon had a national
following and publishers struggled to find other authors to imitate
his style. |
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Emilio
Salgari |
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It wasn't long before
Mr. Salgari started to craft his own legend. Taking on the title
of captain, he spread the idea that many of his stories were based
on his own exploits: he claimed to have travelled through the forests
of Ceylon, explored the Sudan and even met Buffalo Bill while travelling
through Nebraska. His works were popular with the Italian royal
family and in 1897 King Umberto made him a Knight of the Crown. |
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Salgari's imagination knew no bounds.
His characters tamed the Far West, explored Africa, India, Australia
and both Poles. But he is perhaps best remembered for his series
of pirate adventures. Il corsaro nero is a swashbuckling
tale of revenge set in the Caribbean that generated four sequels
and a legion of imitators. Le tigri di Mompracem was the
first in a series of eleven adventures set in the East Indies featuring
Sandokan, The Tiger of Malaysia, a merciless pirate, who along with
his band of warriors and his loyal friend Yanez ruled the waves
of the Malaysian Sea. To this day, in Italy Sandokan is synonymous
with Malaysia and his adventures have been the basis for comic strips,
television shows and feature films. |
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Though his characters achieved an
almost immortal fame, and Mr. Salgari had millions of readers, he
never attained the financial success and stability he deserved.
His publishers, taking advantage of his poor business skills, left
him almost destitute. Overwhelmed by creditors and family misfortunes,
he committed suicide in Turin, on April 25, 1911. In one last act,
drawn from his vast research and imagination, he slit his throat
and stomach, in the ceremonial suicide of the Japanese samurai. |
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But though the dreamer was gone,
his books continued to sell and many owe their love of adventure,
reading and writing to the characters and stories he created. Composers
Pietro Mascagni and Giacomo Puccini were contemporary fans; later
Umberto Eco and Federico Fellini would read Salgari to explore the
world. Sergio Leone, one of the fathers of the Spaghetti Western,
got his first glimpse of the outlaw hero in the pages of Mr. Salgari's
books. |
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Mr. Salgari is particularly
popular in Latin America where he is seen as the first true anti-imperialist
writer. Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pablo Neruda, Jose
Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa and Carlos Fuentes all devoured
his works in their youth. Che Guevara first read of boarding raids,
jungle warfare and battles against injustice in Mr. Salgari's adventure
novels. Guevara read 62 of Mr. Salgari's books causing his biographer
Paco Ignacio Taibo II to remark that one could see that Che's anti-imperialism
was "salgariano in origin." |
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The Corsairs of Bermuda (1909) |
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Salgari's works
would have its effects on early silent films as well. Shortly after
his death, the first adaptation of one of his novels hit the screen.
Directed by Giovanni Pastrone Cabiria was based on Emilio Salgari's
1908 adventure novel Cartagine in Fiamme (Carthage is Burning).
Gabriele D'Annunzio was brought on board to help revise the film
once it had been shot. D'Annunzio earned the title of screenwriter
by altering the title to Cabiria, changing the name of
some of the characters and rewriting the captions, using more grandiloquent
expressions than those employed by the director. The three-hour
movie with its grand proportions and cast of thousands created a
sensation throughout Italy. It pioneered epic screen production
and foreshadowed the work of D.W. Griffith, Eisenstein and others.
Salgari, however, was not given credit until decades later. To avoid
paying for rights, Pastrone attributed the source to a novel by
Flaubert and to his own research. Modern film scholars and D'Annunzio
biographers have since proven Salgari's connection to this Italian
masterpiece. Just one of many adjusmtements and re-evaluations that
would come to light in the late ninties. |
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Though popular with
the masses, Salgari was shunned by critics throughout his life and
for most of the 20th century. Now Salgari's works are being revisited.
In 2001 the Fabbri publishing house in Italy republished his entire
works. The first issue alone, a new edition of I misteri della jungla
nera, sold 100,000 copies. New translations have been published
in France, Portugal, Spain and Latin America and with the recent
translation of Sandokan: The Tigers of Mompracem, Mr. Salgari has
finally been introduced to the English-speaking world. "My
books race triumphantly throughout the world," Salgari once
wrote to a friend. Almost a century after his death, his triumph
still continues. |
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