The Romance Of Giovanni Calvotti

A grand piano and a painter's tools share Giovanni Calvotti's shabby London attic, where artistic ambition survives on very little money. The narrator has lost his savings through gambling and depends on a weekly painting to pay for food and rent. He introduces himself with expansive claims about his music, verse and manners, treating misfortune as a personal opponent called Circumstance. When a girl arrives in tears after an accident damages his latest canvas, his response shows a gentler side to his boastful character.

David Christie Murray's story follows this talkative artist through affection, rivalry and abrupt changes in fortune. In the later excerpt, Calvotti leaves England while struggling with his feelings for Cecilia, then resumes his account at Posilipo. Another turn places him in prison under a serious criminal charge. The appeal lies in his distinctive first-person voice: humour and pride shape his account even when poverty, jealousy and danger press upon him.